Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim is the current Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) for the 2026-2030 term. He was elected by the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA, which is comprised of the Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas) at its November 2025 meeting in Brasilia.
Ibrahim, a Guyanese national, is an accomplished and successful agricultural professional with more than thirty-five years of experience working in first-class international institutions, including IICA and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science (with honors) from the University of Guyana; a master’s degree in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources with an emphasis on animal nutrition, from CATIE; and a PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, from the Agricultural University of Wageningen (The Netherlands).
Ibrahim is a successful professor, researcher, and prolific author of literature on agriculture, agroecology, silvopastoral systems, food security, and payments for ecosystem services in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is also a renowned international expert in livestock systems and the environment.
While in Guyana, he worked as a Senior Dairy Officer in the National Dairy Development Program (NDDP) of the Ministry of Agriculture. At CATIE, he was a professor, researcher, and Head of the Silvopastoral Systems Unit in the Department of Agroforestry and the Environmental and Livestock Program, prior to his appointment as Director General of that prestigious academic institution, serving from 2016-2024.
Ibrahim was also the IICA Representative in Belize, Manager of the Institute’s Innovation Program for Productivity and Competitiveness, as well as Director of its Technical Cooperation Program, before his election by the IABA to the position of Director General.
Among his most outstanding awards are a Recognition from the Colombia Agroforestry Network for his contribution to innovation and training (2023), an Award by the University Center of Izabal, USAC, Guatemala, for his contribution to higher education (2022), an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Jaén, Peru (2019), four CATIE student council awards as the best instructor in the Department of Agroforestry and Agriculture (between 1997 and 2010) and his Award as the best researcher/professor and worker at CATIE (1997).
In 1985, he received the Rector’s Award for the best graduate student in the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Guyana, as well as the GAIBANK Gold Medal for the best graduate student of the Faculty of Agriculture.
On 15 January 2026 he was sworn in as Director General of IICA, in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Elected in 2017 as Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) for the period 2018-2022, and re-elected in 2021 for the period 2022-2026, Dr. Otero oversaw the implementation of a comprehensive process aimed at modernizing the agency of the Inter-American System and enabling it to fully accomplish its mission of promoting agricultural and rural development in its 34 Member States by providing technical cooperation of excellence. To that end, he implemented an innovative policy of partnerships, leading to the establishment of multilateral, bilateral, national, and local work programs involving both the public and private sectors aimed at strengthening the agriculture sector, achieving a balance between productivity and sustainability, generating new development opportunities, and promoting rural well-being across the Americas.
Dr. Otero was also instrumental in the ministries of Agriculture of the Americas and farmer organizations in the region becoming heavily involved in major global forums, in order to defend and position the agriculture sector as an efficient provider of solutions and generator of prosperity.
Taking advantage of IICA’s continent-wide platform, Dr. Otero created innovative spaces for dialogue with other regions of the world, including a relationship and interchange of ideas with Africa. This led to the construction of a roadmap and the development of a shared agenda with organizations such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the African Union Development Agency–New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD). With these organizations, IICA held the first Africa-Americas Ministerial Summit on Agri-Food Systems. Under his leadership, IICA played an important galvanizing role in ensuring that the countries of the Americas participated in the Food Systems Summit with a consensus position that was reflected in a document containing 16 key messages on agriculture, highlighting its unique role and the key efforts of farmers. Dr. Otero also promoted the active participation of the public and private agriculture sectors of the Americas in the COPs, through the Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas pavilion.
In recognition of his contributions, he was invited to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Food and Water Security.
In 2022, he was made a member of the “Don José Falcón” National Order of Merit by Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and received an Honorary Doctorate from CATIE, in recognition of his work on behalf of sustainable agriculture and rural development in the Americas.
During his tenure, he has received numerous decorations and recognitions, including the Dominican Republic’s Grand Cross with Silver Breast Star of the
Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella, the Caribbean country’s highest decoration.
For his contributions to food security and the promotion of science, technology, and innovation in the agriculture sector throughout his career, he has also been recognized by numerous other entities and organizations, including FONTAGRO, AAPRESID, CIARA-CEC, and the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.
