Professor Onyeneke's research focuses on an interconnected set of themes at the intersection of agriculture, environment, and development economics. His expertise includes climate change adaptation and mitigation; sustainable livelihoods; the green and circular economies; agri-food value chain management; the institutional and governance dimensions of agricultural and environmental development; social-ecological systems analysis; just energy transitions; and gender and social inclusion in agricultural and environmental development. He is also skilled in advanced econometric methods, as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.

Professor Onyeneke has published more than 140 research papers, including journal articles (most in journals indexed by Clarivate Analytics and Scopus), books, book chapters, conference proceedings, technical reports, and policy briefs. Professor Robert Onyeneke was among the 5 AE-FUNAI researchers ranked among the world's top 2% scientists by Elsevier and Stanford University in 2024 and among the 9 AE-FUNAI researchers ranked by the same bodies in 2025. He has also consistently ranked among the top 500 scholars in Nigeria by SciVal (based on Scopus citations and scholarly output), underscoring his standing as one of the University's most productive and globally recognized researchers.

Professor Onyeneke has secured research grants from national and international bodies. He has collaborated with globally renowned institutions, including Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, Germany; Michigan State University, United States of America; the International Food Policy Research Institute; Glasgow Caledonian University, United Kingdom; International Water Management Institute; Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team, Ibadan; and Loughborough University, United Kingdom, among others, on research projects focusing on agricultural machinery/equipment marketing, agri-food value chains, climate action, food security, energy access, and transitions in Nigeria and across Africa. He served as a National Expert in conducting the investment and financial flows assessment of climate change mitigation in Nigeria's agricultural sector.

Professor Robert Onyeneke participated in the 24th and 25th sessions of the United Nations Climate Change Conferences – COP24 in Katowice, Poland, in 2018; and COP25 in Madrid, Spain, in 2019. He served as a Review Editor for the UNEP Global Environmental Outlook (7th edition). He has also served as an Expert Reviewer of the First and Second Order Drafts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL). He was part of the team that developed the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change for Nigeria. He contributed to developing agricultural, fisheries, and climate-smart agriculture profiles, as well as climate change policies for some States in Nigeria.

Professor Onyeneke serves as Guest Editor for two Springer Nature journals – Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and Discover Sustainability. He is also a Guest Editor for Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. Additionally, he serves as Review Editor on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Environmental Economics. He is an ad hoc reviewer for more than thirty international journals published by Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor and Francis, Springer, among others. He is a member of several professional associations, including the Agricultural Society of Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Economists, the African Association of Environmental and Resource Economics, and the Agricultural Policy Research Network.

Professor Robert Onyeneke received AE-FUNAI’s Most Outstanding Researcher Award in 2019. He also received recognition as the Most Productive Researcher in the Faculty of Agriculture at AE-FUNAI in 2018.

Professor Robert Onyeneke’s appointment as AE-FUNAI’s Director of Research and Development demonstrates the University's continued commitment to strengthening its research culture, expanding international collaboration, and driving innovation to address Nigeria's and Africa's most pressing development challenges.