Rafael I Merchan

Rafael is a development practitioner specializing in agricultural value chains and food security. He currently works for Catholic Relief Services - Guatemala, as a manager for value chains and innovation. Prior to that, he worked as an agriculture program manager in Afghanistan and as a fellow in Malawi. Rafael has over 15 years of professional experience in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, working for CRS and other international organizations, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Food Program, Food and Agriculture Organization, Fabretto Children’s Foundation among others. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration in Development Practice from Columbia University, and a B.S in Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maryland in College Park. In his spare time, Rafael also blogs about international agriculture and maintains bountiful garden in his house in Quetzaltenango.