Research
Evidence that communities and practitioners can act on
My research examines how people learn, lead, and make decisions within food and agricultural systems — with attention to participation, identity, culture, and the practical use of findings.
Research areas
Citizen science and food systems leadership
My dissertation research examines how farmers who take part in citizen science — specifically triadic comparison of technologies (tricot) trials in Osun State, Nigeria — come to see themselves as leaders. Findings show that participatory research spaces cultivate leadership identity through relational processes such as knowledge sharing, community recognition, and bridging researchers with local actors, positioning citizen science as a pathway for grassroots leadership capacity in food systems.
Leader identity development
Working with collaborators across leadership education, I study how people construct and revise a leader identity, including the low points that shape meaning-making. This line of work has examined narrative accounts of leader identity low points among college students and the identity development of citizen scientists and women farmers.
Intercultural mentoring and cultural competence
I propose and test a bidirectional relationship between intercultural mentoring and cultural competence: mentoring across cultures builds cultural competence, and cultural competence in turn strengthens mentoring effectiveness. The work spans conceptual model building, survey research with graduate students and faculty, and practical guidance for mentors.
Agricultural extension, communication, and farmer engagement
I research how agricultural knowledge moves between researchers, extension professionals, and producers — including participant-driven 'un-meeting' formats, farmer-to-farmer extension beyond neoliberal framings, storage and ICT adoption among Nigerian farmers, and science communicator identity among university faculty.
Program evaluation and systems thinking education
As an evaluator and educator, I design culturally responsive evaluations and training interventions, including systems thinking education for women farmers' leadership identity development and evaluation capacity building for community organizations.
From the field
Publications
Google Scholar profilePeer-reviewed journal articles
Adebayo, B., Olowoyo, O., Poudel, S., Kaufman, E. K., Seibel, M. M., Parrella, J. A., Spence, J. R., Tyler-Mackey, C., Grove, B., Zhu, S., & Gutter, M. S. (2026). Participant-driven gathering: The 'un-meeting' way to engage agricultural producers with the sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF). Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Adusei, F. Y., Agyemang-Dual, W., Akowuah, Y. A., & Adebayo, B. O. (2025). Cultivating resilience: Localized insights into climate impacts and gendered adaptation strategies in smallholder farming in Ghana. Frontiers in Climate, 7.
Adebayo, B. O., Akowuah, Y., Parrella, J. A., Sunderman, H., Kroehler, C. J., & Raun, P. (2025). Modeling science communicator identity through the communication theory of identity: A mixed-methods study of Virginia Tech faculty. Journal of Applied Communications, 109(4), 8.
Adebayo, B., & Sunderman, H. (2025). Investigating the perceived link between intercultural mentoring and cultural competence among graduate students and faculty. New Directions for Student Leadership, 1–8.
Sunderman, H. M., McCain, K. D., Orsini, J., Adebayo, B., & Cheng, A. H. (2025). "Who am I?" A narrative inquiry of leader identity low points for college student leadership development. Journal of College Student Development.
Adebayo, B., & Sunderman, H. M. (2025). Intercultural mentoring and cultural competence: Proposing a bidirectional relationship. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 14(1), 20–37.
Adebayo, B., & Sunderman, H. (2023). Intercultural mentoring in higher education. Journal of Leadership Studies, 17(3).
Ajibowu, S. A., Ogunleye, K. Y., Okunade, E. O., & Adebayo, B. O. (2023). Storage technologies usage among maize farmers in Kwara State. Uniosun Journal of Agriculture and Renewable Resources, 6(2), 24–31.
Ogunleye, K. Y., Adebayo, B., & Adeboye, F. V. (2022). Information and communication technology usage for marketing among agricultural produce dealers in Ogbomosho North Local Government Area, Oyo State. International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 12(1), 53–58.
Adebayo, B., Oladeji, J. O., Ogunleye, K. Y., & Adejumo, A. A. (2020). Perception of ethnoveterinary medicine among poultry farmers in Oyo State. International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research, 7(3), 194–201.