Ibraheem Olasupo’s Journey to Strawberry Production

Ibraheem Olasupo, a recent postdoctoral researcher with NC State University’s Strawberry Precise Indoor Propagation – Coordinated Agricultural Project (PIP-CAP), has always been close to agriculture.

Growing up as the eldest of three boys, he helped with his father’s fish farm back home in Ibadan, Nigeria. Olasupo describes his home country as rich in both natural and human resources, where farming is the backbone of the economy and remains deeply embedded in everyday culture. 

Nearly every family, he recalls, had some connection to agriculture, whether through crop production, animal husbandry, or processing both locally and internationally. 

Those early experiences planted a seed that would eventually shape his career and bring him to NC State, where his work with PIP-CAP supports both conventional field production and the expanding controlled environment agriculture sector, helping strengthen the future of strawberry propagation across North America and the globe.

A Growing Season

The path forward, though, was not always apparent. After graduating high school from Wesley College of Science, Olasupo initially envisioned a future in the military, motivated by a strong sense of discipline and a desire to protect his community. Smiling fondly, he shares, “But that did not work out for me.” While visiting a family friend and enjoying a brief break from school, his father called with news that the application for admission into the Federal College of Agriculture in Ibadan was open. 

That phone call marked a turning point for Olasupo. He went on to ace his admissions interview and excel academically in the agricultural technology program, graduating as the valedictorian for his department. More importantly, he discovered an interest in food production and agricultural research, an endeavor that directly connects science to people and communities. Or, the “gown and town convergence”, as Olasupo puts it. 

That interest deepened throughout his academic journey, which took him from Nigeria to China and eventually to the United States. After earning degrees in soil science and horticulture in Nigeria from the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Olasupo completed his doctorate at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, where he focused on greenhouse vegetable production. 

Along the way, mentorship played a defining role. “I’m a proud product of mentorship,” he says, crediting former and present supervisors who encouraged curiosity,

independence, and critical thinking rather than rigid instruction. Those experiences shaped both his scientific approach and his commitment to guiding others, like his own current mentee at Wake Early College of Information and Biotechnologies, who is interested in becoming a plant scientist one day.

Fruitful Research

As a postdoctoral research scholar in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State, Olasupo plays a central role in the Specialty Crop Research Initiative: PIP-CAP, led by Associate Professor Mark Hoffmann. His work focuses on developing an indoor strawberry nursery designed to supply high-quality transplants for collaborators across the country. These plants support research spanning genomics, phenotyping, production optimization and field evaluation. By coordinating plant production, data collection and multi-location trials, his work ensures that the plants supplied for PIP-CAP’s experiments and industry partners’ commercial needs are disease-free, consistent and relevant.

Strawberries represent a multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States, and access to clean, healthy transplants is essential for long-term productivity and success. Through scalable, indoor nursery systems and optimized controlled environment protocols, PIP-CAP is advancing practical solutions that reduce reliance on soil fumigants such as methyl bromide while improving plant vigor and yield. 

Looking ahead, Olasupo sees his future at the intersection of research and industry. Having worked for years in academia and industry as a lecturer, university administrator, researcher, agronomist and farm owner, he is motivated by translating scientific knowledge into real-world applications. Whether through research and development roles or launching his own company, his goal is to move innovations from the lab into production systems where they can make a meaningful impact on people’s lives. At the same time, he remains deeply committed to education and outreach, engaging with learners, community groups, and the public to make plant science accessible and relevant.

Through projects like PIP-CAP, Olasupo’s journey comes full circle. From early experiences in agriculture to cutting-edge research that supports growers, strengthens food systems and prepares the next generation of scientists.

Since developing this story, Olasupo has left NC State for another opportunity.