Dr. Manuel Otero holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Development from the University of London’s Wye College; a Master of Science degree in Animal Production from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE) in Costa Rica; and a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).

Elected in 2017 as Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) for the period 2018-2022, and re-elected in 2021 for the period 2022-2026, Dr. Otero oversaw the implementation of a comprehensive process aimed at modernising the agency of the Inter-American System and enabling it to fully accomplish its mission of promoting agricultural and rural development in its 34 Member States by providing technical cooperation of excellence.