Fernando Barrera Arenas

Fernando Barrera Arenas is an agricultural engineer and holds a Master’s degree in Rural Economics, with more than two decades of experience in sustainable rural development and international cooperation in Latin America. As an international specialist in Extension at IICA, he leads regional projects that connect agroecology, low-methane-emission rice production, and producers’ access to carbon markets. His work combines project design, coordination among governments, research centers, the private sector, and donors, as well as the development of sustainability standards with value chains.

Before joining IICA, he headed the national extension system of Chile’s Agricultural Development Institute (INDAP), where he led the redesign of technical advisory services to support more than 130,000 family farmers, with sustainability as a central focus. He currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Latin American Network of Rural Extension Services, has presented at global technical forums, and is the author of publications and a lecturer in rural extension programs in the region. He is an agricultural engineer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and completed his postgraduate studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.