Dr. Joshua Okonya, Uganda — Potato Expert Panel
Potato Expert Panel by Potatoes.News
Biography
Dr. Joshua Sikhu Okonya, a distinguished agricultural scientist and Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, serves as Program Officer for Agricultural Technology and Innovation at the Uganda-based Secretariat of the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA). He previously spent 10.5 years as an agronomist at the International Potato Center (CIP).
He has contributed significantly to African potato production for more than two decades. His research achieved two continental firsts: identifying Tobacco Rattle Virus in potatoes in sub-Saharan Africa and documenting Potato Cyst Nematode in Uganda, both of which helped reshape pest surveillance and management strategies for smallholder potato farmers.
Using a multidisciplinary approach that combines climate science, entomology, and socio-economic analysis, he develops farmer-centric integrated pest management solutions that account for gender dynamics and are suited to local conditions. As Coordinator of ASARECA’s Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance across 15 countries, he leads the scale-up of climate-resilient potato technologies, including rooted apical cuttings in Kenya and climate-resilient varieties for farmers with disabilities in Rwanda. He also contributed to Africa’s Pest Distribution and Risk Atlas, which supports practical, climate-responsive pest management.
Dr. Okonya holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Hohenheim, Germany, an MSc in Tropical and International Agriculture from the Georg-August University, Germany, and a BSc in Botany and Zoology from Makerere University, Uganda. His scholarly output is extensive, including over 100 publications: 1 book, 6 book chapters, 10 policy briefs, and 21 journal articles. As of October 2026, his research had over 1,388 citations and a Google Scholar H-Index of 17. Furthermore, he has provided expert consultancy services to major international development organizations, including the IFC-World Bank Group, GIZ-BMZ, CIP-CGIAR, IITA-CGIAR, and the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).
Dr. Okonya’s visionary leadership, scientific excellence, and commitment to sustainable potato value chain development and improved food security across Africa exemplify the transformative impact celebrated by Potato Industry Leaders on the Continent.
Articles on Potatoes.News
- Uganda: Dr Joshua Okonya, Who Leads Climate-Smart Potato Scale-Up Across 15 Countries, on the Potato Expert Panel
- Kenya: Rooted Apical Cuttings Produce Up to 45 Tubers per Cutting in Farmer-Managed Demos
- Kenya: Six-Partner Network Takes Rooted Apical Cutting Seed to Community Multipliers in Nakuru and Nyandarua
Follow Dr. Joshua Okonya on LinkedIn.
