Ag Professor to Share Tales of Fulbright Fellowship in Native Nigeria During Nov. 6 Talk

Since leaving his native Nigeria in 2001 to pursue a doctorate in agriculture from Kansas State University, Stanislaus State Professor of Agricultural Economics and Director of the Agriculture Program Oluwarotimi Odeh had only returned to his homeland a few times.

But earlier this year, he spent seven months there as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching agricultural entrepreneurship at his alma mater, Federal University of Technology Akure, located in the state capital and largest city in Ondo State.

Odeh, who serves as the Roland Starn Endowed Chair, will share his experiences at a faculty-led presentation at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, in Room102 of the Vasché Library at the main campus in Turlock.

While teaching Nigerian students to learn from the challenges they face and leverage their creativity and local resources for success, Odeh said the experience has enriched his teaching at Stan State.

"Among those important lessons is that the vast majority of food grown in the Central Valley is exported, where it reaches 96 percent of the world population living outside of the U.S.," he said. "Thinking globally and acting locally is just one lesson to be gained. The hope is to ensure that our local actions have positive, long-lasting global impacts. That's a noble privilege that comes with great responsibility."

Though Nigeria is a developing nation in terms of its agricultural development, it still has lessons to share, Odeh said. He'll present some of them during his talk.