Dr. Víctor M. Villalobos is a Mexican professional specializing in the fields of agriculture, natural resources and genetics. He enjoys a high professional reputation and has made major contributions and supported innovation in the areas of plant production and the conservation of genetic and natural resources.

In 1976, he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy at the National School of Agriculture in Chapingo, Mexico; in 1979, he obtained his Master of Sciences in Plant Genetics at the Graduate College of Chapingo; and in 1983 he obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada (he wrote his thesis on Plant Morphogenesis).

As a public servant, Dr. Villalobos has been appointed as Natural Resources Undersecretary and as Agriculture Undersecretary for the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) in the Mexican Federal Government.

As a researcher, Dr. Villalobos has encouraged the development of agro-biotechnology as a tool for increasing agricultural production and food security in Mexico and worldwide.

Dr. Villalobos has been a member Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry since 2004 and in the same year he received an honorary doctorate from CATIE. He has also been a member of the “Scoping Team” of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

On August 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay, for his many distinguished years of service in the agricultural sector.

Dr. Víctor M. Villalobos took office as the tenth Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) on January 15, 2010 in Costa Rica. In September 2013, the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), the Institute’s highest governing body, elected him to serve a second term (2014-2018).