Dr. Becker is a professor of Geography and the Director of Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Program at Oregon State University. His specialties are agricultural, food systems, and development in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. He gained extensive experience while completing his post-doc work with West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Cote d’Ivoire (now called the Africa Rice Center). He received his M.A. in education from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in Geography from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. His current research interests include agrarian change and natural resource management.