Martien van Nieuwkoop

Martien van Nieuwkoop leads the foundation’s work to support smallholder farmers, especially women, to become more productive, increase their incomes, strengthen their communities and local economies, and improve their resilience against climate change. Martien joined the foundation in 2024 after a 30-year career at the World Bank, where he held positions that included, most recently, global director for agriculture and food.

Earlier, Martien worked as an economist at the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center in Mexico with a focus on the economics of conservation agriculture practices and as an economist at the Department of International Cooperation of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the latter role, he was stationed in Northern Pakistan for two years for a bilaterally financed agricultural development project.

Martien is a Dutch national, born and raised on a family-owned horticulture farm. He has a graduate degree in agricultural economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and an MBA from Georgetown University. Over the course of his career, he has worked with governments and partners in 73 countries, particularly in Africa and South Asia, and has lived in India, Pakistan, Madagascar, and Mexico.