Agricultural economics and agribusiness are important research focal points for Alexis Villacis, assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Specifically, Villacis takes a special interest in the production of chocolate and coffee and the communities connected to them.
Holding a single chocolate bar in your hand, you rarely begin to think about the process of it getting to you. Villacis encourages students to think about the social, economic and agricultural factors that make that possible.
"One area that has become particularly meaningful to me is cocoa and chocolate," Villacis said. "Chocolate is a part of our culture, but what I like to tell people is that behind every chocolate bar, there are farmers making difficult decisions about investments while constantly navigating changing prices and climate risks."
As a native of Ecuador, Villacis examines the conditions facing cocoa farmers in his home country and around the world. What happens to those farmers can affect supply chains, prices and eventually consumers. Through his research and teaching, he encourages students to understand those connections and the ripple effects of decisions made at every stage of the process. By helping students see the people behind agricultural products, he hopes they gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between producers, markets and consumers.
Villacis takes a special interest in chocolate because it is not only something he enjoys, but something that connects communities on a global scale. Even though people around the world consume chocolate, that does not necessarily mean the farmers producing cocoa are economically secure. Understanding how farmers make economic decisions and how changing prices affect their livelihoods is a major driver of his research.
"All of these experiences have shaped the way I approach research today," Villacis said. "I don't want to study communities simply to produce academic publications. Instead, I want to learn from them, understand their challenges and produce knowledge that can be useful to them."
For Villacis, that work is closely tied to community engagement.
"For me, that is what community engagement should look like: universities and communities learning from one another, learning together and working toward a common objective," he said.
He sees those opportunities for engagement every day in the classroom. Students bring perspectives from their own backgrounds and communities, creating opportunities to learn from one another and connect different experiences. Regardless of their background, Villacis hopes students leave his courses understanding they are part of a global food system, something larger than themselves. He encourages them to think critically about the connections between local communities and global markets, as well as the role they can play in addressing challenges facing food and agricultural systems.
"What attracted me here to Ohio State was the opportunity to bring my experiences into a university with such a strong tradition of connecting research and application with its society, including Ohio, the U.S. and the world," he said.
Another aspect of engagement that is important to Villacis is collaborating with faculty across academic disciplines. He appreciates working alongside colleagues who share a commitment to ensuring their work has an impact beyond the university. He also values opportunities to connect with communities through Ohio State's outreach and Extension efforts. These relationships provide opportunities to share knowledge, learn from different perspectives and develop solutions that address real-world challenges.
Through publications, conversations and partnerships, Villacis works to make economic and agricultural research more accessible to the public. He encourages students to think not only about how the world works, but also about how they can help improve it and contribute to meaningful change in their own communities.
"My students are the ones who continuously remind me why engagement matters," Villacis said.
As his work continues to evolve, Villacis sees research, teaching and community engagement as interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
"I have come to see Ohio as a place where research and teaching and community engagement can interact, but more importantly, reinforce each other," he said.