Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan is Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). In 2000-2001 and 2003, he was Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Research of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the country’s chief negotiator in the Agriculture Negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in various bilateral agriculture negotiations.
Secretary Balisacan is now on secondment from University of the Philippines (UP) where he has taught Development Economics, Agricultural and Resource Economics, and Economics of Poverty and Inequality. Prior to his appointment in NEDA, he was the Dean of and Professor at the UP School of Economics and Executive Director of the Philippine Center for Economic Development. From 2003-2009, he served as Director-Chief Executive of the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
A recognized expert in Asia on poverty, food security, agricultural and rural development, human development, impact assessment, and governance issues, he served as adviser to public chief executives and legislators, non-government organizations, and multilateral development institutions (World Bank, Asian Development Bank, various United Nations agencies and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research). He served as President of the Philippine Economic Society in 2006, President of the Human Development Network in 2003-2009, Founding Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Agricultural Policy Forum in 2003-2006, and Executive Secretary of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources in 2003-2009. Currently, he is President of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economics. Dr. Balisacan holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Hawaii, an MS degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and a BS degree in Agriculture (magna cum laude) from Mariano Marcos State University.
