IICA Director General, Manuel Otero, receives an Honorary Doctorate from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE)

Turrialba, Costa Rica, 28 October 2022 (IICA) – Manuel Otero, the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), received an Honorary Doctorate from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) on Friday. CATIE, which is headquartered in Turrialba, Costa Rica, is a prestigious academic institution for innovation and sustainable development in topics related to agriculture, management, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

The title was presented by the Director General of CATIE, Muhammad Ibrahim, and the Dean of the Postgraduate School, Roberto Quiroz Guerra, in recognition of the work of IICA’s head to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development in the Americas, collective action among countries in the region, the increased digitization of agriculture, tropical agriculture and the positioning of the agriculture sector.

The Honorary Doctorate was bestowed on the IICA Director General following the 2022 graduation ceremony for students in the International Postgraduate Program in Agriculture and Natural Resources, which is the oldest in Latin America, with more than 2,600 graduates from 47 countries.

On this occasion, degrees were awarded in various specialties to students from Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the United States.  

“We would like to acknowledge Dr. Otero’s multiple contributions to rural development, the digitization of agriculture and the nurturing of leadership in rural areas. We must highlight his achievements in different spheres. He is playing a strategic role in agrifood system transformation and the development of rural communities. He has also positioned IICA globally, as an authority in developing solutions”, said Ibrahim, in conferring the Honorary Doctorate on the IICA Director General, who himself was a post-graduate student at CATIE in the 1970s.

On the other hand, Otero thanked the authorities and academic staff of CATIE for awarding him this title and congratulated CATIE on maintaining its essence and commitment to developing leaders in agriculture, food security and sustainable development throughout its history. He also underscored the role of tropical agriculture in ensuring food, nutritional and environmental security in the world.

“In an increasingly aggressive climate scenario, the challenge is to produce more, and in a more sustainable and resilient manner”, said Otero, who called for “increasing investment in science as well as accelerating the transition towards a knowledge-based, inclusive, productive and sustainable agriculture sector”.

“I will never forget that I was one of you”, said the Director General of IICA in addressing the new CATIE graduates. “Whatever you do, do not forget producers and rural dwellers”, he urged them.

“We must see agriculture”, said Otero, “for what it truly is: a sector that generates opportunities and progress; an activity that, together with knowledge, is the best way to dynamize rural areas; and a bridge to a better future, in which science, work and technology go hand in hand to improve the quality of life in rural areas and to increase food security and peace”.

“You are called upon to fulfill a substantive task at an unprecedented moment in time, in which food security and sustainability are at the top of the global agenda, and in which agriculture—particularly tropical agriculture—is expected to play a leading role in solving the urgent issues facing humanity”, he concluded.

CATIE’s Graduate School is globally renowned for its high quality standards and excellence, combining teaching with systemic research and international projection for sustainable development.

Its areas of work in the field of research and development are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and focus on topics such as agroforestry and genetic improvement of coffee and cocoa; environment for development; agrobiodiversity and food security; climate action; biostatistics; watersheds, water security and soils; forests and biodiversity in productive landscapes; inclusion and gender; sustainable economy, environment and agribusiness; and livestock and environmental management.

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int