His professional career has been dedicated to help eliminate world hunger and absolute rural poverty while protecting and enhancing the tropical environment.
He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has received the International Soil Science Award, the International Service in Agronomy Award, the Crop Science Society of America Presidential Award in 2003, and the Soil Science Society of America Presidential Award in 2012.