Dr. Villalobos’s Commitment

Dr. Victor Villalobos’s work over the past 30-plus years has been closely related to, and focused upon, the agricultural sector and its challenges. As a scientist, advisor and high-level official for the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Environment of Mexico, he has developed expertise in dealing with the complexity of this sector, and its unique issues and problems, with responsibility and passion.

Dr. Villalobos has been associated with IICA since the beginning of the 1990’s, first, as part of the board of CATIE (Tropical Agronomic Center for Research and Teaching, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza) and more recently, as the representative for the Government of Mexico to the governing and executive bodies of the Institute. He is knowledgeable about the Institute and understands the critical role it plays for its members. He has also been able to clearly identify the strengths and areas of opportunity that will benefit the agricultural ministries of each member country, so that they can, in turn, encourage and promote competitive and sustainable development in the agricultural and rural sectors.

Today, the multifunctional nature of agriculture demands that decision-makers possess a wide range of skills and knowledge in many different areas of the production chain (agronomic, economic, financial, technological, and entrepreneurial), plus expertise in areas relating to marketing and human and natural resources. Furthermore, today’s decision-makers need to recognize and understand the short term alternatives in addition to medium and long term approaches, and offer ground-breaking technological options that will help the agriculture sector thrive, in a globalized, highly competitive world with complex and selective markets.

In such a complex environment, IICA should play a strategic role. Dr. Villalobos has pointed this out repeatedly in international cooperation meetings that he has attended. If elected to the position of Director General, Dr. Villalobos intends to position IICA to play such a role.

To succeed in this kind of environment requires ample knowledge and experience at the international level, and a strategic perspective regarding the future. Dr. Villalobos has built such a profile through hard work, dedication and institutional commitment, always working closely with others in a team effort. Dr. Villalobos is a strong believer in the team approach. He likes to share his knowledge and complement it with his teammates’ knowledge in order to find the best possible solutions to the challenges being faced.

Dr. Villalobos now offers his knowledge, abilities, experience and commitment to the Ministers of Agriculture, and their Ministries, of IICA members. With their support, and from the office of IICA’s Director General, he can be instrumental in helping the agricultural sector of the Continent transition towards competitive and sustainable agriculture for the benefit of all Latin America and the Caribbean.