Arnoud's long experience in the tropics, where he trained smallholders using the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach, has resulted in his belief in the strength of combining smallholders, sustainable trade, environment-friendly production and private-sector investment. His expertise spans grants & loans for emerging markets, business development, partner searches, matchmaking, fair trade and its pre-financing, organic agriculture, smallholder farming, Farmer Field Schools and training-by-doing.

Frank's pride and joy is the unique FarmTree®-Model he has developed for agro-forestry planning, implementation and management. Using a multi-stakeholder approach, this model generates scenarios of farms and landscapes, giving farmers an understanding not only of their investment robustness, but also of nutrition benefits, carbon flows and returns-per-day by gender. The FarmTree®-Model can forecast the costs and benefits of entire agro-forestry projects, serving both farmers and conservation agencies. Frank holds an MSc in Agronomy and a PhD in Innovation Studies from Wageningen University. For more information see: www.farmtreeservices.com.

Limbi works on proposal and business plan development, partnership building, resource mobilisation and institutional capacity development for the private and public sector, farmer organisations and NGOs. He has 18 years of experience in management and development programmes through NGOs, faith-based organisations and the private sector. Limbi's main focus is developing innovative sustainable business cases that involve smallholders with other players in the value chain.

An anthropologist by training, Sara has over 30 years of experience in the fields of international and rural development. First and foremost a communicator and connector, she helps people to communicate clearly through written text. A team player who can motivate, plan and manage – meeting deadlines is second nature to Sara.

Papa Moussa specialises in logistics and project reporting. After studying and living in the US for several years, he moved back to Africa, setting up a fishing company in Sierra Leone, which works with smallholder fishermen, and running several logistic companies in Senegal. He has assisted USAID with project reporting on agricultural projects in English, French and other languages. His excellent interpersonal communication skills have helped him to build a wide network in Senegal, a great advantage when it comes to developing locally based projects. Papa Moussa collaborates with DIBcoop on project development in West Africa, providing expertise and profound knowledge of the local context and dynamics.

With more than 20 years' experience as a financial and operational executive in international companies, Zeynep excels in developing financial models and implementing operational controls that streamline business operations, increase efficiency, transparency and profitability, and drive growth even with limited resources and in challenging environments. With her strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills, Zeynep fosters good relations with all levels of staff, clients and partners, creating pleasant collaborative environments.

Sarah Hassan Ali joined DIBcoop through the Dutch government's Young Expert Programme (YEP). She has a BSc in Industrial Engineering and three years' experience in developing and implementing emergency humanitarian projects in Somalia. Sarah is interested in the business development sector, and is engaging with DIBcoop to build partnerships in both Kenya and Somalia.

Bart is a freelance renewable energy consultant specialising in bioenergy and solar power. With degrees in Electrical Engineering and in Development Studies, he has a strong grasp of technical concepts combined with a thorough understanding of developing country contexts. Bart brings 20 years of experience in developing and executing renewable energy related studies, project implementation, technical assistance and training, in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

His desire to contribute to a green and sustainable world has led Ard to study International Land and Water management at Wageningen University. He values a positive work environment and makes an active contribution to that at DIBcoop. He favours an inter-disciplinary approach as this allows diverse knowledge streams to come together to achieve sustainability goals. Ard has worked on several agri-projects in Uganda and Sri Lanka, where 'People, Planet, Profit' are at the core of the strategic tools being implemented.

With her roots in mountainous rural Bhutan, working experience in the agriculture sector and educational background in Environmental and Plant sciences, Tshering works on practical solutions that contribute to sustainable farming practices, sustainable business development and resilient livelihoods. Her interests include natural resource management, agronomy, agroecology, crop diversification, climate smart agriculture, agroforestry and plant/tree-soil modelling. Tshering is now focusing on networking, proposal writing, project implementation and the promotion and use of the FarmTree®-Model. She is particularly interested in collaboration with Asian countries.

Thor's background is in international nature management. His keen interest in agroecology and agroforestry, landscape restoration and participatory approaches fuels his contribution to projects that address environmental and social issues in a pragmatic and holistic way. Thor has experience mainly in rural South America, and he enjoys working and communicating in diverse and international settings.

Gabija believes that one of the best ways to conserve nature is by fostering sustainable livelihoods and agroforestry. She is passionate about and has experience in landscape finance, participatory assessments and innovative methodological approaches. Gabija has conducted participatory studies in Indonesia, Ghana and Vietnam, where she led workshops, focus group discussions and interviews with experts and community members.

Although Moussa’s training is in journalism, translation and interpreting, his heart lies in agribusiness and agroforestry. He is a fervent tree planter too and has been closely involved in a Jatropha agroforestry project – the nuts of this tree have many uses including the production of biodiesel. Moussa is DIBcoop’s man in Mali, from where he coordinates our projects in West Africa.

Cas van den Bogaard is the Coder of DIBcoop’s FarmTree® Model. Cas has been involved in the conceptualisation of the Model from scratch, and he is now coding the online Model so clients can access it. Cas studied physics and data science at Radboud University Nijmegen, and since working on the Model he has gained a profound knowledge fn the interactions between trees and crops in diverse Agroforestry systems.

Michel Uiterwijk is our FarmTree® Tool co-developer and is guiding the development of the FarmTree® Application. Michel is an experienced mobile app developer and has extensive experience with agriculture and biodiversity related simulation models. Michel uses core principles such as Clean Code, SOLID, DRY and TDD (Unit Testing).