Rafael Parra-Peña

Rafael Parra-Peña

Rafael Isidro Parra-Peña S. is a Senior Specialist in Rural Development and Natural Resources (RND) at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Previously, Rafael held leadership roles in the Government of Colombia, including VicePresident of Agroindustry at Colombia Productiva, an agency under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, and Director of the Sustainable Rural Development Unit at the National Planning Department (DNP). He also led a private sector research unit as Executive Director of the Centre for Coffee and Business Studies of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (CRECE-FNC) and served as an associate researcher at the Fedesarrollo think tank and BiovIntCIAT/CGIAR. Additionally, Rafael has collaborated with multilateral and international organizations such as the World Bank, ECLAC, UNDP, as an economist, and in other various consultant roles, and worked in projects across different countries. Rafael holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a master's in international economics from the University of Sussex, UK, as well as a Master's and BA in Economics, with an option in Management, from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. He is also a Rockefeller Foundation-Acumen Academy Food Systems Fellow, USA. Rafael has served as a external senior lecturer at the Faculty of Economics at Universidad de los Andes and has authored several publications in economics, public policy, and agricultural economics, which are available online.