Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center

Luis A. Ribera
Associate Professor and Extension Economist
PhD (Agricultural Economics), Texas A&M University
MS (Agricultural Economics), University of Arkansas
BS (Agricultural Economics), University of Arkansas

About Dr. Ribera:
Dr. Ribera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Economist for District 12 of The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, based in Weslaco. He also serves as the Program Director for International Projects for the Agricultural and Food Policy Center.

Dr. Ribera received his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, all in Agricultural Economics with emphases in Risk Analysis, Simulation and Econometric Modeling. Dr. Ribera is an Assistant Professor and Extension Economist for the Department of Agricultural Economics of the Texas A&M University System. He also serves as the International Programs Coordinator for the Agricultural and Food Policy Center. His research expertise includes applying risk analysis and econometric tools on business management and economic analysis. His current work focuses on economic feasibility studies of biofuels using different feedstock, and international market integration.

In the international arena, Dr. Ribera has been to Brazil several times to gather data and meet with industry experts on cotton, sugarcane and ethanol production. He is also working on a competitiveness analyses for crop production between the U.S. and Latin America. Since 2004, Dr. Ribera is a faculty member of the Master’s Program in Applied Economics and Business Administration, a partnership program between Texas A&M University and Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. Countries visited recently for different projects and/or teaching classes include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru.