Instructor Andrew Millison has traveled the globe documenting the most ambitious agricultural restoration projects in the world—gaining millions of views and transforming how students learn.
By Ben Davis
I
n the arid borderlands of the Sahara Desert, a quiet agricultural revolution is underway—and Oregon State University is helping tell its story.
Earlier this year, Andrew Millison, a senior instructor in OSU’s Department of Horticulture, returned from a high-risk mission with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). His charge: document one of the largest land restoration efforts on the planet and help bring its lessons home—to his students, to Oregon, and to a global audience hungry for sustainable solutions.
With a camera in hand and his boots in the dust of the Sahel, Millison captured compelling footage of how communities in Niger and Chad are reversing desertification using surprisingly simple techniques: digging half-moon-shaped water catchments, planting native trees and grasses, and working hand-in-hand to restore ecological balance. The project has helped lift 500,000 people out of food dependence by transforming over 300,000 hectares of barren land into thriving, food-producing landscapes.
“It’s the most cutting-edge horticultural work in the world,” Millison says. “And it’s based on ideas we teach every day here at OSU—water harvesting, soil health, silvopasture, agroforestry. Seeing those principles applied at scale, in one of the harshest environments on Earth, shows students and the world just how powerful they can be.”
The project has helped lift 500,000 people out of food dependence by transforming over 300,000 hectares of barren land into thriving, food-producing landscapes.
Millison’s video of the project, created in collaboration with the WFP, has been viewed nearly 15 million times on YouTube. The viral response has helped draw international attention to the WFP’s Resilience Program—an effort not only to provide food in times of crisis, but to prevent hunger in the first place by investing in regenerative land practices.
But his work doesn’t end at the upload button. His videos are also central to his online permaculture courses—OSU’s largest non-credit program—where students from around the world learn how to apply these same strategies in their own communities.
“His teaching model is a powerful example of 21st-century land-grant innovation,” says Dave Stone, Associate Dean of International Programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “Andrew doesn’t just export OSU knowledge globally—he brings back on-the-ground insights from the most impacted areas of the world and translates them into educational tools that benefit our students and communities here in Oregon.”
Millison’s global journey as a storyteller began more than a decade ago when he transitioned to online education and began creating video content to enrich his courses. A 2017 trip to India sparked a turning point. Armed with a small camera and inspired by large-scale permaculture efforts few outside the region had seen, he began documenting projects on the ground—eventually launching his own YouTube channel to reach a wider public.
The response was immediate and global. Viewers in Mexico, Bolivia, and beyond began implementing what they learned from his videos. Millison realized he had found a leverage point: “Public education at scale. That’s how I could make the biggest impact.”
Today, his channel has racked up millions of views. His content bridges academic rigor with accessible, real-world storytelling that delivers both a call to action and a practical guide for change.
And his work is gaining attention in international policy circles. His new four-part video series, produced for the UN’s Conference to Combat Desertification (COP16) in Saudi Arabia, will be used by WFP to pitch expanded restoration funding for the Sahel region. Millison has been invited to speak on “Resilience Day” and lead a side event for UN communications staff on how to better share their impact stories with the public.
This global visibility comes with challenges. Filming in Niger and Chad required military escorts and diplomatic clearances to enter conflict-sensitive zones and fly drones. “They don’t just let anyone walk in with a camera,” Millison says. “The fact that OSU backed my travel to these high-risk areas shows real commitment. These are places where the stakes are high, and where the solutions can be game-changing.”
Stone agrees. “The cutting edge often lives in places where the problems are most acute. High-risk regions are often hotbeds of innovation out of necessity. Supporting faculty to engage in those places is how we stay connected to real-world solutions.”
Ultimately, Millison’s work exemplifies the full circle of OSU’s land grant mission—education, research, and outreach—looping from Corvallis to communities across the globe and back again.
“My students, whether they’re in Oregon or online from across the world, aren’t just learning theory,” Millison says. “They’re seeing the real-world application of these ideas in some of the most challenging environments on Earth. And they’re realizing they have the knowledge and tools to make a difference too.”