
Meet Olalekan Ayodele Sipasi "Sipasi", Ph.D.
Assistant professor and director, Global Food Systems Leadership
sipasioa@k-state.edu
Competition | Positivity | Includer | Activator | Developer
Campus office: 222 Leadership Studies Building
Responsibilities
I provide strategic leadership and administrative oversight for Global Food Systems Leadership (GFSL). A central focus of my work is building connections across disciplines and creating opportunities for students to translate learning into meaningful action. These connections support opportunities for internships, applied learning, service-learning, research, professional development and collaborative initiatives that connect students with real-world food systems challenges.
Through this work, I seek to strengthen GFSL as a collaborative platform that prepares emerging leaders to contribute to more resilient, sustainable and equitable food systems.
Teaching
I like to approach teaching as an interactive, engaging and student-centered experience; where students feel comfortable contributing their perspectives, asking difficult questions, challenging assumptions, and learning from one another.
Currently I am teaching:
- GENAG/LEAD 225: Fundamentals of Global Food Systems Leadership
- GENAG/LEAD 325: Uncertainty in Global Food Systems Leadership
- Ph.D. Horticulture and Natural Resources, Kansas State University 2024
- M.S. Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria 2015
- Graduate Certificate: Business Administration / Management, African Management Institute, Nairobi, Kenya 2013
- B. Agric (Tech)., Animal Production and Health, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria 2012
- Global food systems
- Food systems leadership
- Systems thinking
- Sustainable agriculture
- Food security
- International agricultural development
- Community engagement
- Program development and administration
- Global partnerships and engagement
My research interests center on the intersection of global food systems, sustainable agriculture, leadership, and community development. My work explores how systems thinking, leadership, and sustainable agricultural practices can strengthen food security, build resilient communities, and improve livelihoods.
- Global food systems and food security
- Sustainable and climate-smart agriculture
- Systems thinking and food systems leadership
- Agricultural and community development
- Leadership development in food and agricultural systems
- International agricultural development
- Sustainable food production systems
- 2023 Permaculture Design Certificate Course., to train 100 farmers, youths, and women in PDC, Agribusiness, Sustainable Vegetable and Production ($24,709.76). O. Sipasi, J. Cowan
Funder: U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, Nigeria - 2022 Permaculture Design Certificate Course., to train 120 farmers, youths, and women in PDC, Agribusiness, Sustainable Vegetable and Production ($32,561.00). O. Sipasi, J. Cowan
Funder: U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, Nigeria - 2019 Farming for Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development FEED III to train farmers, Youth and Women in Agribusiness, Sustainable Vegetable and Production ($7,000). O. Sipasi
Funder: The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Lagos, Nigeria - 2018 Farming for Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development FEED II to train farmers, Youth and Women in Agribusiness, Sustainable Vegetable and Production ($9,700). O. Sipasi
Funder: United States of America Consulate, Lagos, Nigeria - 2017 Farming for Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development FEED I to train farmers, Youth and Women in Agribusiness, Sustainable Vegetable and Production. ($10,000) O. Sipasi, O. Eromosele, A. Ajayi, D. Agbonyin
Funder: United States of America Consulate, Lagos, Nigeria - 2017 Eco-Friendly School Farm Project ($5,000) O. Sipasi
Founder: WorldConnect US - 2016 Trained 120 rural women in sustainable backyard vegetable farming ($1,000) O. Sipasi
Founder: The Pollination Project, US
- 2021 – 2022 Robert Nunemacher Scholarship: Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS; committed to an exceptional doctoral student in the College of Agriculture conducting research in ranching or farming, and with high academic standing.
- 2022 Award of Appreciation, Young African Leaders Initiative, Accra, Ghana
- 2021 2021 JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria.
- 2019 Award of Appreciation: Field of Skill (Agriculture) through U.S. Consulate, Portharcourt, Nigeria
- 2019 Award of Appreciation: contribution to Eleven Eleven Twelve EETF Green Grant Boot Camp, Ibadan, Nigeria
- 2019 African Youth and Sustainable Development Award -NELIS Summit 2019, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2019 Majidun Community Award of Excellence for contribution to development of their agriculture sector, Ikorodu, Nigeria
- 2019 Award of Appreciation: contribution to 2019 World Environmental Day, Ibadan, Nigeria
- 2018 Leadership Award, The Leverage Africa, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2018 Most Innovative Volunteers Award – Voluntary Services Overseas VSO, Abuja, Nigeria
- 2018 Nigeria – America Partnership Award, U.S. Consulate General Lagos, Nigeria
- 2018 Outstanding Carrington Fellow Award, U.S. Consulate General Lagos, Nigeria
- 2018 Award of Appreciation: Field of Skill (Agriculture) through U.S. Consulate, Ibadan, Nigeria
- 2018 unPolished Hero, UnPolished Stories, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2017 2016 Africa Youth Awards for Agriculture, Youth Awards Media, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- 2017 2016 Future Award Africa for Agriculture Winner, Future Awards Africa, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2017 Environmental Sustainability Award by Civil Society Awards, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2016 Social Innovators Program & Award SIPA. LEAP Africa, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2016 Lion’s Awards, The Most Influential Participant of Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), West Africa Centre for Cooperate Social Responsibility, Accra, Ghana
- 2015 Hidden Eco-Hero Award Winner, Samsung Engineering’s Tunza Eco-generation, Seoul, South Korea
- 2014 Certificate of Merit: President – Environmental Protection and Conservation Club, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria
- Shaibu Fuseini, Olalekan Sipasi, Kerry L. Priest., Collective Leadership for Systems Change: Developing a Climate Change Network in Ghana. New Directions for Student Leadership, 2025
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/yd.70027 - Sipasi, Olalekan Ayodele. Evaluating King Stropharia mushroom as an intercrop in asparagus and tomato production; the potential for utilizing mushroom residue as a dietary supplement for poultry. Kansas State University, 2024. (Dissertation)
- Sipasi, O. A. and Cowan, J. S., The role of home gardens in fighting extreme poverty and hidden hunger in Lagos, Nigeria: Proceedings International Conference on Sustainable Development, New York, NY 2021
- K-Staters deliver permaculture design certification course in Nigeria https://www.k-state.edu/today/announcement/?id=95010
- K-State provides sustainable agricultural training for beginning farmers in Nigeria https://www.k-state.edu/today/announcement/?id=87845
- Board Member, Kansas Permaculture Institute
- Founder / Chairman ProtectOzone Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative
- Systems Thinking Faculty Fellow 2026 cohort for the Strengthening Faculty for Wicked Problems-Solving program!
- Active Development Worker, Education Concern for Hunger Organization (ECHO), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Member: American Society of Horticultural Science
- Life Member Pi Alpha Xi, the National Society of Horticulture, Omega Chapter, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
- Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society Member, Eta Chapter, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
I enjoy traveling, exploring new places, and connecting with people from different cultures. I am passionate about agriculture, community development, and mentoring young people. I love K-State for its people, sense of community, and the many opportunities to make a meaningful difference.
Staley School of Leadership
252 Leadership Studies Building
1300 Mid-Campus Dr. N.
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6085
leadership@k-state.edu