Guyana’s Muhammad Ibrahim succeeds Manuel Otero as Director General of IICA with mission of strengthening agriculture in the Americas

San José, 13 January 2026 (IICA) Guyanese agronomist Muhammad Ibrahim will take over as Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) this Thursday, January 15, with plans to further strengthen the leading role that the Americas play in the planet’s food security.

Ibrahim was elected in November by the ministers of Agriculture of 32 countries in the Americas, and will be sworn in as Argentine Manuel Otero’s successor in a ceremony at IICA Headquarters in San José, Costa Rica, that will be attended by ministers, deputy ministers and other high-ranking officials from a number of governments, as well as representatives of international organizations.

Elected for the period 2026-2030, Ibrahim succeeds Otero, who served two consecutive terms as Director General of IICA, the specialized agency for agricultural development and rural well-being, and implemented a comprehensive process of transformation after he took office in January 2018.

Those efforts put the promotion of science and technology at the center of technical cooperation projects, which have benefited some 10 million farmers and rural stakeholders across the region in recent years.

The institution, the leading technical authority for agricultural and rural development in the Americas, also became a promoter of collective action by the countries, enabling governments and producer organizations to present common positions in the most important international forums, in defense of their interests and the role of agriculture as part of the solution to global challenges.

Ibrahim, who holds a PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University (Netherlands), has pledged to work to strengthen agriculture in all the countries of the Americas by tapping the opportunities offered by the current context of research and new technologies.

To that end, he intends to further expand IICA’s efforts to promote investment aimed at transforming agrifood systems and improving the economic and financial viability of agricultural enterprises and, in particular, small farmers.

Ibrahim, who was nominated for the post by the Government of Guyana and garnered broad support from the countries, has an outstanding track record in building networks to increase the productivity and resilience of the agriculture sector in the Americas.

Having worked in dozens of countries over the last 35 years, he has developed strong links with governments, the private sector and international partners to find solutions to common problems in the agriculture sector.

He has excelled in establishing partnerships, mobilizing financial resources and working with decision-makers. He also demonstrated his abilities during his eight years as Director General of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), a leading institution for innovation in agriculture  and the management, conservation and use of natural resources.

The incoming IICA Director General holds a BSc. (with honors) in Agriculture from the University of Guyana and an MSc. in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources with emphasis on animal nutrition from CATIE, as well as a doctorate from one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions.