Prof. Susan Ohen delivers 137th UNICAL Inaugural Lecture, calls for sustainable food system management, and highlights role of universities in shaping policy and advancing national development in agriculture sector.
The University of Calabar, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, hosted its 137th Inaugural Lecture, delivered by Professor Susan Ohen, a renowned academic in Agricultural Economics. The lecture, titled “Bridging the Gap: Market Intermediaries, Ecosystems and the Quest for Sustainable Food Security,” explored the urgent need for a more inclusive, environmentally conscious, and profit-sensitive approach to food system management in Nigeria and beyond.
In a compelling blend of scholarly insight and personal narrative, Prof. Ohen reflected on her academic journey, which began in 1999 as a graduate assistant and culminated in her promotion to professor in 2018. She paid tribute to the mentorship that shaped her career, highlighting the roles played by Dr. Nathaniel, Dr. Ekemeni Ekpeme, Prof. S.O. Abang, and Prof. Miriam Solomon in refining her research focus in agricultural marketing and agribusiness management.
Ohen underscored the role of intentional mentorship, resilience, and strategic leadership in academia, especially for women. She noted with pride that she became the second female Dean of her faculty, following her mentor, Prof. Solomon, who broke the gender barrier as the first woman to hold the position.
A highlight of the lecture was a moment of personal triumph as she celebrated her daughter, Delight Ohen, who was recently recognized as the best graduating student in the Department of Agricultural Economics—28 years after Prof. Ohen herself earned the same distinction.
Shifting to the core of her lecture, Prof. Ohen addressed the structural inefficiencies in Nigeria’s agricultural markets, calling for a realignment of market intermediaries with environmental sustainability and social equity. She warned that climate change, population pressure, and ecosystem degradation threaten national food security unless decisive reforms are implemented.
The lecture reinforced the role of universities in shaping policy and advancing national development—particularly in sectors as critical as agriculture.
BA/COV
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