Jonathan Newby

Dr. Jonathan Newby (Jono) is the Cassava Program Leader at the Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT overseeing the programs activities in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Dr. Newby is an agricultural and rural development economist with over 18 years’ experience working as multidisciplinary teams on a range of cropping systems, livestock, and forestry projects within Southeast Asia.

In 2013 he joined the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) as part of the cassava program. He managed cassava value chain research in Vietnam, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Myanmar. His research includes understanding the drivers and trajectories of different segments within the cassava sector; the economic impacts of new technologies; and how the structure of local value chains and composition of livelihoods impacts both the adoption and incentives for scaling innovations. This has included the adoption and scaling of new varieties through seed system development; the economics and adoption of soil and landscape management practices; and addressing cassava disease through a range of public and private partnerships.

Dr. Newby is the Country Manager for the Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT and the OneCGIAR Country Convenor in Lao PDR.