Born in Uberaba/MG, Edson Fernandes studied Public Management at the Nove de Julho University in São Paulo.

He began his career in public life as a parliamentary aide in the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia in 1988.

In 2016, he joined the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) in the state of São Paulo, as deputy superintendent. A year later, he became head of the department, when he left the federal agency to join the Development Policy Board of the São Paulo State Land Institute (Itesp).

In September 2023, he began his career at the São Paulo State Department of Agriculture and Supply as coordinator of Institutional Relations and was subsequently appointed executive secretary of the department.