Dr. Jonathan Steinke

Jonathan Steinke’s research and consulting focuses on sustainable agrifood systems as well as international climate and biodiversity protection. At Arepo, he is engaged in international evaluations, such as a GIZ project on climate mitigation in Colombia or the European Environmental Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

Before joining Arepo, Jonathan Steinke spent ten years in the CGIAR research-for-development network, including as research fellow with Bioversity International and consultant with CIAT and the CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation. Here, he led scientific studies and pilot projects on smallholder agricultural innovation, participatory plant breeding, and inclusive digitalization. His field research and project activities have taken him extensively to Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala) and Eastern Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania).

In 2019, he obtained a PhD in agricultural economics from Humboldt University Berlin, following empirical research on the potential of digitalization for agricultural extension in the Global South. He stayed for a postdoc period and, from 2020 to 2023, led an ‘accompanying research’ project, providing continuous scientific advisory to a GIZ food and nutrition security project in Madagascar. Here, he emphasized providing demand-led and actionable advice to local project stakeholders based on scientific evidence. He has widely published research work across major scientific outlets, including Agricultural Systems, Food Security, and PNAS.

Jonathan Steinke combines qualitative and quantitative approaches: he uses semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and co-design workshops, as well as quantitative surveys, econometric impact analyses, and causal inference tools. In interacting with project target groups, he is passionate about using Human-Centered Design methods to unearth the needs and aspirations underlying current behavior. Jonathan Steinke is fluent in German, English, French, and Spanish. He can have informal conversations in Italian and Romanian, and knows a wee bit of Kiswahili.