Brazilian academic and researcher, Marcos Jank, is awarded the title of IICA Chair, for his contribution to agrifood trade development in the Americas
San Jose, 24 July 2024 (IICA) – In recognition of his more than thirty-five years devoted to global agrifood trade issues, Marcos Jank, Senior Professor of Agribusiness at INSPER and Coordinator of Insper Agro Global, was conferred with the title of “IICA Chair” by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), during the annual meeting of its Executive Committee in Costa Rica.
The IICA Chair program recognizes the contributions of researchers, academics, professors and leaders that promote and foster new knowledge about agriculture and rural development in the Americas.
Jank, who received the title from IICA Director General, Manuel Otero, is the second Brazilian to be awarded the distinction and he joins seven other members of the program. The other Brazilian Chair is the former Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues.
During the annual meeting of IICA’s Executive Committee—a body made up of ministers of Agriculture of 12 countries of the Americas, serving on a rotating basis—Jank participated in a panel discussion on the status of global and hemispheric agrifood trade, along with Gloria Abraham, Costa Rica’s former Minister of Agriculture and its Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, who is also an advisor to IICA; and Fernando Mattos, the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay.
Mark Jank could be described as a professional in many fields, who has devoted his life’s work to promoting the development of agriculture in a wide spectrum of spheres. He has always been actively involved in research, teaching, international organizations, sectoral organizations, the private sector and the public sector.
He has been a professor and researcher for twenty years, having served as an Associate Professor in the University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEA-USP), the Institute of International Relations (IRI-USP) and the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP).
“It is an immense pleasure to be named as an IICA Chair in international trade and food security – an area that I have chosen to pursue throughout my professional life, since I left university. I am delighted to be among the group of eminent individuals who have already received this honor and to be able to continue working towards Latin American and Caribbean integration in the areas of food security, trade and agricultural trade policy. I hope to progress, study and to continue fighting for greater integration in the Americas in these spheres”, remarked Jank.
Specifically addressing agriculture in Brazil, Jank maintained that his country and the region have a growing responsibility to ensure global food, energy and environmental security. “We also have immense potential in the integration of agriculture with livestock production, bioenergy, carbon farming and forests, as well as the capacity to develop sustainable techniques, not only for basic products, but for specialized products, such as seafood, beverages and fruit production.
In recalling the career path of the honoree, the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, remarked that, “The IICA Chair award recognizes individuals who have much to contribute to agriculture and rural development in the Americas, not only through their first-class work, but also because of their commitment to giving greater recognition to farmers and the fundamental role they play in guaranteeing food security and adequate nutrition for the people of our region and the entire world”.
The academic career of Marcos Jank began in São Paulo and continued throughout the world. He gained a bachelor’s degree from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of São Paulo (USP), a Master in Agricultural Policy from the Agricultural Institute of Montpellier and a PhD in Business Economics from USP’s School of Economics and Administration.
In his quest for knowledge, he studied and worked for ten years outside of his country, traveling throughout the United States, Europe (France) and Asia (Singapore).
He also completed sabbaticals at various universities in the United States—Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and at the Agribusiness Research Institute of the University of Missouri-Columbia—and in Europe (Paris and Montpellier, France).
Public and private sectors
Having a keen eye for business, Jank is also actively involved in the private sector, having served as President of the Brazilian Sugar Cane Industry Association (2007-2012) and of the Asia-Brazil Agro Alliance (ABAA) from 2017- 2019. He was also Vice-President of Corporate Affairs and Business Development for the Asia-Pacific Region at BRF.
In the public sector, he worked as an integration and trade specialist at the Integration, Trade and Hemispheric Affairs Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington (2001-2002) and as Special Advisor to Minister Celso Lafer at the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) in 1999.
He has been a board member for many companies in his country and abroad. Currently, he is an independent member of the Board of Directors of Rumo Logística, Chair of the Sustainability and Innovation Committee of Minerva Foods, a member of Cargill Global’s international Land Use and Forest Protection Advisory Panel and a member of the Superior Council of Agribusiness (COSAG) of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP).
He has also shared his knowledge in the communication field, having worked as a commentator and columnist for television, newspapers and journals with widespread national and international coverage.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int