Guatemala City, 23 June 2025 (IICA) — The Government of Guatemala presented an award to Dr. Manuel Otero, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in recognition of “his visionary leadership and decisive contribution to strengthening the agricultural sector in Guatemala and across the hemisphere.” The tribute was led by the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAGA), María Fernanda Rivera Dávila.
At the ceremony held in the capital city, Minister Rivera highlighted Dr. Otero’s key role in establishing IICA as a strategic partner of MAGA and the significant impact of his work in various countries.
“This tribute is also a recognition of Dr. Otero’s personal and technical qualities. His leadership has marked a turning point in technical cooperation in our country,” she stated.
Dr. Otero expressed his gratitude for the recognition, noting that “Guatemala has been a laboratory of innovation and a fertile ground for promoting transformative public policies for IICA.”
The tribute took place during Dr. Otero’s official mission to Guatemala, where he participated in the launch of a digital regional integration platform developed jointly with the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA). The platform aims to turn knowledge into evidence for better public policy management across the Americas, enhance regional coordination, and make international technical and financial cooperation more effective and efficient.
Also present at the ceremony was Martín Recondo, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Guatemala, who noted that due to his outstanding leadership of the multilateral organization, the IICA Director General has been, and continues to be, a facilitator of the work carried out by Argentina’s network of embassies and consulates throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Martín Recondo, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Guatemala; María Fernanda Rivera Dávila, Guatemala’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food; and Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA.
During his tenure, Dr. Otero has led a profound institutional modernization of IICA, establishing it as a technical reference point in Latin America and the Caribbean. Under his leadership, initiatives such as Living Soils of the Americas, Digital Agriculture in Action, and IICA Chairs were launched, while strategic partnerships with governments, multilateral organizations, and producer associations were promoted, giving unprecedented visibility to the private sector.
In Guatemala, cooperation with MAGA reached a high point through the CRIA Program (Regional Consortia for Agricultural Innovation), an initiative that built technical capacities in over 100 municipalities, strengthened interinstitutional governance structures, and improved the livelihoods of thousands of rural families.
Dr. Otero also praised the Bono Campesino Productivo, a national sectoral public policy, as a concrete example of inclusive policymaking, highlighting the country’s efforts to consolidate an agricultural model with strong territorial presence and robust public–private dialogue.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
