Agronomist by training and holds a doctorate in economics. He is a retired full professor at the Institute of Economics at Unicamp. He served as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from 2012 to 2019. With over 30 years of experience related to food and nutritional security and rural development, he coordinated the formulation and implementation of the Zero Hunger Program in Brazil while serving as Extraordinary Minister of Food Security and Combating Hunger.