To build more sustainable agriculture and food systems, governments must create an enabling environment of innovative policies that catalyzes positive changes from farm to fork. Latin American and Caribbean countries have introduced a multitude of interventions to promote sustainability, but the efficacy of these actions is often uncertain. This team will map and analyze regulations, services, investments and other policy actions, adopted from 2010 to 2023, to identify the characteristics of a successful enabling environment.
Which public interventions implemented across Latin America and Caribbean countries contribute to sustainable agriculture and food outcomes?
Click on a team member to learn more about them.
Joaquín Arias IICA
Julio Berdegué Mexican Ministry of Agriculture
Julio Berdegué
Julio Berdegué, a Mexican national, holds a PhD in Social Sciences from Wageningen University, Netherlands. Currently, he is the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development for Mexico. Dr. Berdegué was FAO Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean between April 2017 and July 2022. Prior to that, he was Founder and Director of Rimisp-Latin America Center for Rural Development. Dr. Berdegué also served as a member and Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT). Dr. Berdegué has published and worked extensively in the area of rural development, including territorial development, food security and nutrition, non-farm rural employment, the role of small and medium-size cities in rural development, and the supermarket revolution and its impact on family farming. He has advised several governments in different Latin American countries on these issues. He has written or edited 16 books and dozens of articles in international scientific journals, some of which are among the most cited in their field worldwide. (Link)
Carmine Paolo De Salvo IDB
Milton Alvarado Consultant
Jorge Alexander Bonilla Londoño University of the Andes
Linda Errington Juno Evidence Alliance
Carmine Paolo De Salvo
Carmine Paolo De Salvo is a Senior Rural Development Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where he currently works on public policy and investment loans in the agriculture sector in Argentina and Uruguay. In addition, Paolo leads IDB’s Agrimonitor Initiative, which aims to monitor agricultural public policies in Latin America and the Caribbean using the Producer Support Estimate methodology. He has also worked on agricultural policies and investments in Haiti, Jamaica, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Suriname. Before joining IDB, Paolo worked in the Agriculture and Rural Development Division of the World Bank and as an ODI Fellow Economist at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Paolo, an Italian national, received a bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Bologna, Italy. He also holds a master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics, United Kingdom. (Link)
Lina Salazar
Lina Salazar is a Lead Economist for the Rural Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). She has a PhD in Economics from the American University in Washington, DC and specializes in rural development, gender economics, and project impact evaluation. Over the past six years, she has led the design and implementation of several impact evaluations of rural development programs in order to identify effective strategies to improve agricultural productivity, income, and food security of small landholder producers in the Latin American and the Caribbean region (Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico). Her research also expands to topics related to disaster risk management and gender issues. At the IBD, Dr. Salazar leads the design of agricultural projects (i.e., Haiti, Bolivia, Peru) and the impact evaluation agenda for interventions in the agricultural sector. Previously, Dr. Salazar worked in the Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the FAO in Rome, as well as in the Impact Enhancement Division of the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru. (Link)
Estefania Puricelli
Estefania Puricelli is the new Director for Sustainable Commodities at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Before joining WWF, Estefania was the Lead Economist for the NASA Harvest Consortium at the University of Maryland. Previously, she was part of the Agricultural Market Information System at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome. Estefania holds a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of London, and two bachelor’s degrees (Economics and Farm Management) from the University of Buenos Aires, where she is originally from. (Link)
Valeria Piñeiro
Dr. Valeria Piñeiro is the acting Head of the Latin American and Caribbean Region and Senior Research Coordinator in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Her recent work includes modeling the impacts of agricultural support policies on emissions from agriculture and reviewing the evidence on incentives for the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and their outcomes. Her work in the Latin America and Caribbean region includes development strategies and economic growth, trade policies, effects of economic downturn, migration, and tax policies to reduce obesity. She has significant experience working in the areas of economic development and growth using computable general equilibrium (CGE) models as an analytical tool and has led courses in many countries teaching the theory and application of CGE models for the last several years. Valeria received her PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Maryland. (Link)
Viviana Perego
Viviana Perego is an Italian-Uruguayan national with 13 years of experience as a development economist. Her professional interests lie in inclusive rural livelihoods, food and nutrition security, and disruptive technologies for agriculture. Viviana currently works as Senior Economist in the Agriculture and Food Global Practice of the World Bank, where she leads operations, analytical work, and policy dialogue on rural development, food systems resilience, and climate-smart agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining the World Bank, she collaborated with national and international policy and research institutions such as the International Labour Organization, UNICEF, the Bank of Italy, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford. Viviana holds a DPhil (PhD) in Economics from the University of Oxford and a master’s degree in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University. (Link)
Inyhalia Orozco
Inyhalia Orozco is a Librarian and Information Scientist at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) where she manages databases and provides guidance for research on agrifood systems. Prior to working at IICA, she earned her master’s of Library Science from the University of Costa Rica. (Link)
Brian McNamara
Brian McNamara is a Program Coordinator in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). He manages projects and assists with research related to food security, nutrition, agriculture, rural development, and poverty reduction issues. Prior to joining IFPRI, he researched healthcare financing at the Minnesota Department of Health and worked in Guatemala at the non-profit, Maya Health Alliance. Brian completed his master’s of Public Policy at the University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs. (Link)
Monica Rodrigues
Monica Rodrigues, a Brazilian national, is an Economic Affairs Officer at the Agricultural Development Unit of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC). In recent years, she has been leading projects focused on agricultural digitalization in Latin America and the Caribbean. Her research covers a range of topics including agricultural trade, innovation, and food security. Currently, Monica is responsible for leading the design and implementation of several technical cooperation projects for agricultural development while also coordinating the Latin American Digital Agriculture Observatory. She is an economist with a master’s degree and PhD studies from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Linda is an information specialist with specific expertise in information retrieval and information management in support of evidence synthesis. Currently working as Senior Information Specialist with the Juno Evidence Alliance, Linda has many years of experience as an academic librarian. Latterly she was head of the medical library at Newcastle University where she joined many research teams to support their evidence syntheses and taught literature searching skills in support of evidence synthesis to MSc and PhD students as well as early career researchers. To date, Linda has co-authored 30+ evidence synthesis papers on a range of subject areas. Linda holds a master’s degree in Health Informatics from the University of Sheffield, UK. (Link)
Linda Errington
Gracian Chimwaza is the founding and Executive Director for the Information Training & Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA). Chimwaza has a background in electronic engineering, business management, and marketing. Prior to establishing ITOCA, Chimwaza was Head of Sales & Marketing and General Manager at Africa Online, a leading regional internet service provider in Zimbabwe. For the past 20 years, Chimwaza has led capacity development, research, and project management work in many African countries focusing on education and research, ICTs, digital libraries, knowledge management, and exchange programs with the higher education and research sectors. He serves on several international boards including the Research4Life Executive Council and Cyberplex Africa, one of the largest web development and knowledge management companies in southern Africa. He has been an invited speaker in many international and regional research and education policy meetings. Chimwaza earned his MBA from Thames Valley University, United Kingdom, and a Chartered Marketer diploma from the Institute of Marketing Management (IMM) South Africa. He also holds a PhD in Information Science from University of Pretoria, South Africa. (Link)
Gracian Chimwaza
Jorge Alexander Bonilla holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Gothenburg and a Master's degree in Economics from Los Andes University. He is an environmental economist and associate professor at Los Andes University, where he also directs the Research Group on Environmental, Natural Resource, and Applied Economic Studies (REES), part of the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD). His research focuses on environmental policy, climate change, and using real-time data for impact evaluation. (Link)
Jorge Alexander Bonilla
Milton Alvarado is an Agronomist with a Master's in Environmental Socioeconomics and over 20 years of experience in rural development. His expertise lies in agribusiness, policy, technical assistance, and natural resource management. With a strong academic background and extensive professional experience. (Link)
Milton Alvarado
Cristian Morales-Opazo is a senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). His research focuses on agricultural policies, domestic price policies, production and natural resources, and nutrition. He also leads the Sustainable Markets, Agribusiness and Rural Transformations team in FAO's Agricultural Development Policy and Economics Division. (Link)
Cristian Morales-Opazo
Joaquín Arias is a Technical Specialist at the IICA Panama office, where he also serves as the Coordinator of the Observatory of Public Policies for Agrifood Systems (OPSAa) and BlogIICA. He holds a PhD and a master's degree in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in the United States. With over 25 years of professional experience, Dr. Arias has conducted extensive research and provided technical assistance to Latin American and Caribbean countries in the fields of international trade, agribusiness, food security, risk analysis, and public policy. Over the course of his career, Dr. Arias has authored more than 70 publications, including books, chapters, technical reports, blogs, and scientific articles. He previously served as a policy and trade analyst at IICA Headquarters in Costa Rica (1996–2002), a policy and trade specialist for the Andean Region based in Peru (2003–2013), and as an International Technical Specialist at IICA in Washington, DC (2014–2019). (Link)
Joaquín Arias
Federico Bert IICA
Federico Bert is an agronomist with a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires. Currently, Federico is a Coordinator for agro-digitalization at the Interamerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). He has also worked as an Assistant Researcher at Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and in the Research and Development Area of Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA), a farmer-run nonprofit organization. Federico´s research interests are focused on the complex interactions between climate, water, and decision-making in agricultural systems of the Argentine Pampas. His PhD work focused on the assessment of opportunities and limitations for the use of climate information in agricultural decision-making. (Link)
Federico Bert
Camilo Bohórquez-Penuela Central Bank of Colombia
Camilo Bohórquez-Penuela holds a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in Economics from Los Andes University. He is currently a Junior Researcher at the Agricultural and Natural Resources Economics Center of the Central Bank of Colombia. His research focuses on labor and demographic economics, rural development, agricultural economics, and environmental policy. Camilo has also worked in research positions with the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Minnesota Population Center. (Link)
Camilo Bohórquez-Penuela
Carolina Borda Ipus IICA
Carolina Borda is a Climate Change and Sustainability Specialist at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Her focus is on addressing the gendered impacts of climate change, considering intersectionality and other factors. Carolina has been involved in climate projects at national and international level, promoting effective actions to address climate change, and leading projects on territorial adaptation and resilient agriculture. Her education has focused on sanitary and environmental engineering, and she is currently pursuing her master’s s degree in Gender Equity. (Link)
Carolina Borda
Hugo Chavarria IICA
Hugo Chavarría is the Manager of the Hemispheric Innovation and Bioeconomy Program of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). He is also a member of the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy, Executive Secretary of the Latin American Bioeconomy Network, and IICA representative in international bioeconomy and innovation forums (IBF, GBEP, LAC Circular Economy Coalition, Foragro, Fontagro, and GFAR, among others). Hugo has more than 20 years of professional experience leading and managing research and investment projects in the Americas in bioeconomy, competitiveness, and sustainability of agrifood systems. He holds a master’s degree in International Trade and diplomas in public policy evaluation, tools for environmental economics, and leadership. As a result of this work, he has authored or co-authored more than 60 publications, given a large number of international seminars and workshops, and taught in various training programs in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Prior to joining IICA, he was an international consultant for various organizations such as the European Union and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, among others. (Link)
Hugo Chavarria
Veronica Ciganda INIA Uruguay
Veronica Ciganda is an Agricultural Engineer. She graduated from Universidad de la República, Uruguay, with and holds a master’s degree and PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States. She is the Principal Researcher and Director of the National Research Program in Production and Environmental Sustainability of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (Uruguay). Veronica has led and participated in national and international projects on topics related mainly to greenhouse gas emissions in livestock and agricultural production systems; interaction between agricultural production systems and water quality; life cycle analysis in cattle production systems under grazing; and the sustainability of native forests affected by livestock production systems. She has also participated as a delegate for Uruguay in the Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance for greenhouse gases as well as a representative in the scientific committee of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. (Link)
Veronica Ciganda
Gracian Chimwaza ITOCA
Mali Eber Rose Shamba Center
Mali Eber Rose is a Research and Policy Analyst at the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate. Her works focusses on the sustainable financing of food security and nutrition in developing countries, in particular the need to increasing and improving public investment to facilitate sustainable food systems transformation. Prior to joining the Shamba Centre, she worked as a research analyst at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Mali holds a bachelor’s in international relations with Quantitative Research Methods from the University of Leeds (UK). (Link)
Mali Eber Rose
Pablo Elverdin Grupo CEO
Pablo Elverdin has a degree in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires and is a member of the Group of Southern Producing Countries and of the CEO Group. His research areas include economics, trade, food security, agro-industrial policy, and environmental sustainability of agro-industrial systems. He is an External Consultant for international organizations such as IFPRI, IDB, FAO, IFAD and IICA, among others. He has worked in various areas of the national and provincial public administration in Argentina. Among others, he was Director of Sectoral Integration and Industrial Policy of the Ministry of Industry of the Nation and General Coordinator of the ProArgentina export promotion program. Between 2012 and 2016 he served as Executive Director of the Chamber of Agricultural Machinery of the Province of Buenos Aires and advisor to the national chamber (CAFMA). (Link)
Pablo Elverdin
Fabiola Espinoza IICA
Fabiola Espinoza is a Librarian at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), where she specializes in information management; scientific, academic, and specialized information research; and database management. She studied Library and Information Sciences with a specialty in information management and sociology at the University of Costa Rica. (Link)
Fabiola Espinoza
School Feeding Programs
Initiative Lead
Policy
Technology
Credit Programs
Methodology Experts and Coordination Team
Institutions
Conditional Credit Programs
Ediner Fuentes-Campos
Ediner Fuentes-Campos serves as a Public Policy Consultant at the Observatory of Public Policies for Agrifood Systems (OPSAa) at the IICA office in Panama. He holds a Master's degree in Environmental Microbiology and a Bachelor's degree in Environment and Development Engineering. With over 10 years of professional experience, he has conducted various research projects in Emerging Biotechnologies, Bioeconomy, Bio entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, and Innovation, as well as in Public Policies in Latin America. Throughout his career, he has held project management roles in research and development, scientific and technological infrastructure, and capacity building. Previously, he worked as a negotiator for the Ministry of Environment of Panama in the Convention on Biological Diversity and its corresponding protocols (2017-2019). Additionally, he worked as a Specialized Consultant in the Import Processes of Biological Material for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2022. He also serves as a consultant on Regulatory Strategies for the technological transfer of bio startups and spin-offs in the region. He is also a member of the Synthetic Biology Expert Group at OECD. (Link)
Jeffry Jiménez Pérez IICA
Eva Hasiner World Bank
Fabio Lima Cordeiro Embrapa
Jeffry Jiménez Pérez
Jeffry Jiménez is a Library Manager at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) with over seven years of experience working in academic libraries. Prior to working with IICA, Jeffry was a Librarian at the Latin American University of Science and Technology and studied information science at the University of Costa Rica. (Link)
Fabio Lima Cordeiro graduated in Library Science from the University of Brasilia and holds a degree in Law from the Instituto de Educação Superior de Brasília. He is currently an Analyst in Information Management at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). His experience is primarily focused on administration and library science, with an emphasis on knowledge management across the themes of public health, technical-scientific information in agriculture, international cooperation, technological prospection, and public administration. (Link)
Fabio Lima Cordeiro
Nelson Illescas is a lawyer specializing in international law and agro-industrial and environmental negotiations. Currently, he serves as the Director of the International Agricultural Negotiations Institute Foundation (INAI) in Argentina. He has authored articles and papers for both national and international publications on topics related to agro-industrial trade, negotiations, dispute resolution, sustainable development, and food security, among others. He has worked as a consultant for international institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the World Bank, as well as Argentinian domestic organizations such as the Provincial Agricultural Services Program (PROSAP) and the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA). He is a professor at the Universidad Austral (Legal Framework of Agribusiness), the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (International Trade), and the Universidad de Tres de Febrero (Geographical Indications). He has been a speaker at various conferences and events (Bolsa de Cereales, IFPRI, ACSOJA, MAIZAR, CARI) and a guest lecturer at various universities (UBA, UNTREF, UNLP, UCA, UNLPam). He is a Consulting Member of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), a member of the Forum of Lawyers for International Trade of Argentina (FACIA), and the President of the Environment and Energy Commission of ICC Argentina. He holds a degree in Law (UNLP), a master's degree in International Relations (thesis pending) from the Institute of International Relations (IRI, UNLP), and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Law and Economics from UTDT. (Link)
Nelson Illescas
Eva Hasiner is a Senior Economist at the World Bank, where she works on themes related to agriculture and food systems. She has worked extensively on projects supporting agribusiness development and rural entrepreneurship, digital transformation of the agrifood sector, and food security emergency response. Eva holds a PhD degree in Economics from the University of Goettingen and two diploma degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Vienna. (Link)
Eva Hasiner
Maria de Cleofas Faggion Alencar is a graduate in Library Science from the Faculdade de Biblioteconomia Fundação, Escola de Sociologia e Política de São Paulo. She has a master's degree from the School of Library and Information Science, Kent State University, with a specialty in Informatics at PUC-Campinas and a PhD in Educational Psychology from the Faculdade de Educação, Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Her work and research focus on information products and services, national and international bibliographic databases, public policies, and terminology. (Link)
Maria de Cleofas Faggion Alencar
Carol Franco is an ecological economist with expertise in food security, ecosystem services and policies for economic development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. She is a Senior Research Faculty member in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech. She is currently the advisor on Nature-based Solutions for the Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic, a member of the Science-Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), and an Advisory Board Member of Science Diplomacy Center of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). Additionally, she is a review editor for the IPCC Assessment Report 6 (AR6), Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation. She has participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since 2012 as a member of the Dominican Republic delegation negotiating the topics of REDD+, climate financing, and adaptation in agriculture. Dr. Franco provided technical expertise in the preparation of the Intended National Determined Contributions, (I)NDCs, of the Dominican Republic and also supported the implementation of the NDCs and SDGs objectives in the Caribbean islands. (Link)
Carol Franco
Joanne Gaskell World Bank
Joanne Gaskell is a Senior Agriculture Economist in the Food and Agriculture Global Practice at the World Bank, based in Washington, DC. She has worked across Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia managing investments and analytic work related to regional trade, environmental sustainability, technology adoption, and inclusive value chains. Before joining the World Bank, Joanne held research positions at the International Food Policy Research Institute and UC Berkeley’s Center for Diversified Farming Systems. Joanne´s academic work has been published in journals such as Food Policy, Science, and the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. She holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Stanford University. (Link)
Joanne Gaskell
Matthew Grainger NINA
Conservation Scientist with expertise in evidence synthesis, data analysis, data visualization and models for decision-making. (Link)
Matthew Grainger
Juliana Helo Sarmiento University of the Andes
Juliana Helo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Los Andes University. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on the effects of climate change and temperature shocks on health and mortality, bridging development and environmental economics. (Link)
Juliana Helo
Manuel Hidalgo IICA
Manuel Hidalgo is an engineer with a background in computer science and telematics, with technical studies in administration, finance, and international trade. He has 30 years of experience in information systems, having spent seven years at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) and 23 years at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) as a Specialist in Information Systems and Technologies of the SIDALC Alliance. He holds a degree from the Peace Secretariat of the Government of Guatemala as an Ambassador for the Culture of Peace. He was a consultant for FAO in Rome for the Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research, and Extension. His main activities include managing IICA's Information and Documentation Unit, the SIDALC platform, the Integrated System of Libraries, Repositories, and AgriPerfiles. (Link)
Manuel Hidalgo
Diego Ivan Bolivar National Planning Department of Colombia
Diego Bolívar holds a Master’s in Finance and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Universidad Externado de Colombia. In his professional career, he has specialized in agricultural finance, project valuation, and rural development. Currently working at the National Planning Department in the Agricultural Marketing and Rural Financing department. Additionally, Diego has held various consultancy roles, including with the FAO on fishery project valuation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), budget advisor of planning department at the Botanical Garden of Bogota, Financial Inclusion Expert at Regional Center for Coffee and Business Studies, and as a senior expert consultant at Universidad de Los Andes. (Link)
Diego Bolívar
Nelson Illescas INAI
Jessica Leight IFPRI
Jessica Leight is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Jessica holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT, an M.Phil. from Oxford (Rhodes Scholar), and a B.A. from Yale University. She specializes in development economics, focusing on agriculture, structural transformation, social protection, gender, and human capital in low- and middle-income countries. Her work spans regions including China, India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Bangladesh. (Link)
Jessica Leight
Donovan Leiva University of Notre Dame
Donovan Leiva is a Research Project Coordinator at the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to this, he was part of the Remote Emerging Disease Intelligence Network (REDI-NET), where he worked on tick e-ID processing, sample processing, and sequencing of iDNA and eDNA to check for known and unknown pathogens. Before joining Notre Dame, he was the Field Station Manager at the Belize Vector and Ecology Center, which focuses on the transmission of disease from insects to humans. In this role, he connected international researchers funded by Google, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense with the local Ministry of Health to strengthen the country’s capacity for disease prevention. Donovan received his master's degree from Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, specializing in Global Health. (Link)
Donovan Leiva
Alejandra Marín Gomez Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT
Alejandra Marín is a Research Specialist on sustainable tropical forage-based livestock production systems at The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT. Her research aims to contribute to improving animal production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector, through the co-design and implementation of climate change mitigation measures with cattle producers. She recently led a collaboration with the World Bank under the Colombian Sustainable Livestock Alliance to develop a Climate-Smart Cattle Ranching Prioritization Framework for the Orinoquía region of Colombia. Currently, she is the coordinator of the PDET Routes Program of the European Peace Fund, which implements initiatives to improve productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability of Colombia’s dairy cattle and the cocoa value chains. Alejandra holds a PhD in Agricultural and Animal Sciences from the Brazilian Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and National University of Colombia. (Link)
Alejandra Marín Gomez
Maria de Cleofas Faggion Alencar Embrapa
Carol Franco Virginia Tech
Ediner Fuentes-Campos IICA
Jaron Porciello Juno Evidence Alliance
Inyhalia Orozco IICA
Byron Reyes Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT
Jaron Porciello
Jaron Porciello is an Information and Data Scientist who brings together technology and research methods to connect policy and science across the global food system. She has worked with agricultural research communities, publishers, UN agencies, donors, and development groups across sub-Saharan Africa for more than a decade to support the changing and complex sociotechnical environment of research, evidence, and data. Jaron is a co-founder of the Juno Evidence Alliance. She was also the Primary Investigator and Co-Director for Ceres2030: Sustainable Solutions to End Hunger, among other notable projects in the area of evidence synthesis. (Link)
Byron Reyes holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University. He specializes in economic impact assessment, monitoring, and evaluation of agricultural research and development initiatives., and socioeconomic studies with extensive field experience across Latin America and Africa. He designs and implements household surveys, conducts economic analyses, and leads learning assessments for sustainable food systems and biofortification projects. He has published on topics including technology adoption, seed systems, gender barriers, and food system resilience. Currently a Scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, he collaborates closely with governments, NGOs, and research institutions around the globe, and especially in Latin America. (Link)
Byron Reyes
Juan is a Specialist in Science, Technology and Innovation at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). As a consultant in innovation and bioeconomy, he has collaborated with Colombia's National Planning Department (DNP) and the FAO. He has been involved in biotechnology projects funded by donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the USDA, at institutions like the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the IICA. In his role as advisor to Colombia's Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, he led the implementation of the Bioeconomy Mission. He holds a master’s in biotechnology and is pursuing a postgraduate diploma in State, Public Policy, and Development. Additionally, he has been recognized as one of the young leaders in biotechnology in Latin America by Allbiotech and Bioeconomy Youth Champions by The International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy (IACGB). (Link)
Juan Fernando Martínez
Gonzalo Muñoz IDB
Gonzalo Muñoz is a Senior Rural Development Specialist in the Rural Development, Natural Resources, and Disaster Risk Management Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) since 2008. He holds a degree in Agronomy and a master’s in finance from the UDELAR of Uruguay. During his years at the IDB, he has worked on the design, management, and supervision of rural development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. He has been based in Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, where he led sectoral policy dialogues. Since 2017, he has been transferred to Washington where he has added responsibilities for supervising the division's portfolio and participating in knowledge generation studies. He is currently leading the design and implementation of the Sustainable Livestock Platform for the Americas. Before joining the IDB, he worked in the Programming and Policy Office of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Uruguay, at the Central Bank of Uruguay. He also worked in the private sector with cooperatives and directly in agricultural production. (Link)
Gonzalo Muñoz
Elsa Olivetti FAO
Elsa Olivetti is an Economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) where she specializes in economic model analysis using computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. Her work includes modeling the socio-economic and environmental impacts of agricultural policies with a focus on trade policies, analyzing the trade-nutrition nexus, and evaluating official development assistance (ODA) flows. She contributes to the HESAT2030 initiative and policy guidance for food system transformation in Indonesia and Uganda, among other projects. Elsa holds a master’s degree in Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development from Paris-Saclay University, and a master’s degree in Science and Executive Engineering with a minor in Public Affairs and Innovation from Mines Paris–Paris Sciences & Lettres University. (Link)
Elsa Olivetti
Daniel Ortega Partnership AG Carbon
Daniel Ortega is an Expert Panel Co-Chair at the Integrity Council of Voluntary Carbon Markets, where he leads the design of Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) to ensure integrity of voluntary carbon markets. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee of the Climate Action and Agricultural Sustainability Program at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and a Climate Policy Expert for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He holds a PhD in Public Policy and Management from Ohio State University and a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University. (Link)
Daniel Ortega
Sabine Papendieck ESTRATECO
Sabine Papendieck has a degree in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) and a master’s degree in International Economic Relations and Negotiations from Universidad del San Andrés-FLACSO-Universidad de Barcelona (UDESA-FLACSO). She is currently a Professor of International Economics at the UCA School of Political Sciences and an Advisor Professor in postgraduate courses related to market access for agro-industrial products, focused on sustainability requirements and measurement, reporting, and verification (MVR). She is also a member of the Argentine GPS Network, Managing Partner of ESTRATECO Consultores, and General Coordinator of the Argentine Carbon Neutral Program (PACN). (Link)
Sabine Papendieck
Valeria Piñeiro IFPRI
Dr. Valeria Piñeiro is the Regional Representative for Latin American and Caribbean Region and Senior Research Coordinator in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Her recent work includes modeling the impacts of agricultural support policies on emissions from agriculture and reviewing the evidence on incentives for the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and their outcomes. Her work in the Latin America and Caribbean region includes development strategies and economic growth, trade policies, effects of economic downturn, migration, and tax policies to reduce obesity. She has significant experience working in the areas of economic development and growth using computable general equilibrium (CGE) models as an analytical tool and has led courses in many countries teaching the theory and application of CGE models for the last several years. Valeria received her PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Maryland. (Link)
Viviana Perego World Bank
Estefania Puricelli WWF
Mariángela Ramírez World Bank
Mariángela Ramírez is a Senior Agriculture Specialist in the Latin America and Caribbean Agriculture and Food Unit of the World Bank. She has a background in international development organizations, impact investment funds, management consulting firms, and agricultural enterprises. Much of her work has been focused on the intersection of finance and sustainability, with a strong concentration in agriculture. Often this has involved facilitating connections between development funds and impact capital and vulnerable Latin American farming communities in pursuit of market-based sustainability solutions. In recent years, her work has centered on livestock solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and exploring the public and private levers for scalability of sustainable livestock practices and technologies. Mariángela holds an MBA with a concentration in Economics and Sustainable Development from INCAE Business School. (Link)
Mariángela Ramírez
Monica Rodrigues CEPAL
Juan Fernando Martínez IICA
Brian McNamara IFPRI
Cristian Morales-Opazo FAO
Daniela Salas
Daniela specializes in digital marketing and communication strategy, with a focus on the design of knowledge management and capacity-building strategies through digital environments. With over four years of experience particularly within the scope of food security, sustainability, and digital transformation of the agrifood agrifood systems. (Link)
Victor Taleon IFPRI
Emily Schmidt IFPRI
Victor Taleon
Victor Taleon holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Food Science and Technology from Texas A&M University. He is currently a Research Fellow in the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Victor has extensive experience in research, having previously worked as an Intern at the W.K. Kellogg Institute and a Research Assistant at Texas A&M University. (Link)
Fábio Veras holds a PhD from University College London (2004), a Master’s in Economics from the University of São Paulo (1999), and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Brasília (1993). He’s a researcher at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), a think tank tied to the Brazilian government. At the moment, he also serves as IPEA’s focal point and as the Research Coordinator at the UNDP/IPC-IG.Fábio has dedicated much of his career to evaluating the impact of cash transfer programs and other social policies, working in places like Brazil, Paraguay, Mozambique, and Yemen. (Link)
Fabio Veras Soares
Emily Schmidt is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Her research focuses on the intersection of development economics and geographic information systems (GIS) with an emphasis on the dynamic process of rural land transformation, rural employment diversification, and agricultural production outcomes on household welfare. Her most recent research explores household livelihood strategies in Papua New Guinea, including linkages between agriculture, poverty, and nutrition outcomes among rural smallholder farmers. (Link)
Emily Schmidt
Jorge Armando Rueda Gallarodo is an economist with a Master's degree in Economics from the University of the Andes and over 14 years of experience in research institutions and the public sector. In addition to his research, Jorge Armando has also taught courses in quantitative methods, microeconomics, and spatial data analysis at the University of the Andes’ Faculty of Economics, combining his expertise in both research and teaching. His research focuses on areas such as the labor market, territorial development, rural and agricultural development, agrifood systems, urban-rural linkages, health economics, and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis. (Link)
Jorge Armando Rueda Gallarodo
Marco Saborio is a Librarian at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), where his work focuses on information sciences and managing academic databases. He has a degree in Library Sciences and New Information and Communication Technologies from the State University of Costa Rica. (Link)
Marco Saborio
Lina Salazar IDB
Sini Savilaakso Juno Evidence Alliance
Sini Savilaakso is a scientist working to improve policy and decision-making through better use of evidence. She has 20 years of research expertise, focusing on natural resource management, sustainability transitions, and evidence synthesis. She leads Juno’s research and training on evidence synthesis working with various partners globally. She has also taught evidence synthesis methods and evidence-informed decision-making at the University of Helsinki where she holds an associate professorship for forest ecology. (Link)
Sini Savilaakso
Hafsa Sheikh CABI
Hafsa Sheikh holds an master’s degree in Development Studies from the Lahore School of Economics and a master’s degree in Global Affairs with a focus on Sustainable Development from the University of Notre Dame, where she was a Riberas Orjales Family Fellow. She is currently a Project Manager at Havos.ai where she works on the "State of the Field for Research in Agrifood Systems" landscape report for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). She also manages project tracking for Hesat2030—a global roadmap to end hunger sustainably and nutritiously. Hafsa has over five years of professional experience with non-profit groups such as Akhuwat, an organization that provides interest-free microloans to Pakistan’s poor. She also has worked with Youth Impact, an organization that conducts wilderness-based leadership programs for youth. Serving as the Head of Social Impact, she collaborated with non-governmental organizations focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Hafsa has also worked with Training Impact Limited, a corporate training firm, where she learned about human development and experiential education. (Link)
Hafsa Sheikh
Volha Skidan EPAM
Volha Skidan is a Senior Data Scientist at EPAM Systems. She holds a master’s degree in Algorithms and Systems for Big Data Processing from Belarusian State University. Her work has focused on software development, machine learning, and statistical modeling. (Link)
Volha Skidan
Suzanne Stapleton University of Florida
Suzanne Stapleton is an Associate University Librarian at the University of Florida where her work focuses on agricultural research support, digital publishing, and digitization of historic print materials. She has extensive experience in cooperative extensions and has published frequently in scholarly journals. Her research interests include digital literacy skills and the role of academic libraries in scholarly publishing. She holds a master’s degree from Cornell University. (Link)
Suzanne Stapleton
Fabio Veras Soares IPEA
Kelly Witkowski IICA
Kelly Witkowski leads the Hemispheric Agriculture Climate Action and Sustainability Program at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, directing vision and implementation strategy for the Institute and its 34 offices for promoting a more resilient, sustainable, and low-emissions agriculture sector in the Americas. She works at the technical and political levels to foster more active and informed participation of the agriculture sector in national and international processes related to climate change and to mobilize climate finance to enable climate action in agrifood systems. She is based in Costa Rica and has master’s degrees in sustainable development and international affairs. (Link)
Kelly Witkowski
Jorge Armando Rueda Gallarodo University of the Andes
Marco Saborio IICA
Daniela Salas Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT
