Interview Stefan Ligtenberg

A decade of putting impact first

This year, Weather Impact celebrates its 10-year anniversary! To mark the occasion, we reflect on the last ten years and speak to both former and current colleagues who helped shape the company into what it is today.

This week, we talk to Stefan Ligtenberg, Managing Director of Weather Impact. As we celebrate this milestone, we look back at the evolution of Weather Impact and the changes that Stefan has witnessed during his tenure.

From Academia to Weather Impact

Before joining Weather Impact, I worked on a postdoctoral project at the IMAU. I came across a vacancy at Weather Impact for the role of Consultant Meteorology and Climate Change, right when I was considering leaving academia. For the first year, I still held on to my postdoctoral project, balancing it 50/50 with my work at Weather Impact. But after two months, it was already clear that my passion lay in meteorology within the agricultural sector, particularly in Africa. It was a perfect fit, and alongside a great team, I was able to grow in this field.

Over the years, the structure of the company changed significantly. We faced many challenges, especially during the pandemic, when many of our valued colleagues left, and we had to find new ways to continue. It was during this period that I slowly transitioned into my current role as Managing Director, a move made possible thanks to the trust and support of Gerrit and Arnold.

What changed and what stayed the same

I have been at Weather Impact for seven years now, and while some aspects of our work have changed, our core mission remains the same. We continue to develop operational agri-weather solutions and provide farmers with user-friendly services that are tailored to their specific needs and location. We still provide many farmers with weather information and farming advice via SMS. And while our focus remains largely on Africa, we have expanded our reach to South-East Asia and Europe.

I’m especially excited about recent innovations like the introduction of our chatbot, which allows for two-way communication with farmers, via their smartphones. We directly receive essential information such as planting dates and crop growth status from a farmer, enabling us to better tailor weather and farming advisories to their individual needs. Besides the chatbot, we have seen an increase in capacity building trainings we offer to local institutions and partners.

While working in Africa presents its challenges – such as limited internet access and IT infrastructure – the people are deeply engaged and eager to learn. Through our capacity building, we aim to contribute to a sustainable service. Their appreciation of our efforts is rewarding, and I am hopeful that we can continue to contribute to the development of reliable, accurate, and local agri-weather solutions.

Our contribution across continents

Weather Impact has always had a global reach and outlook, and you are quickly trusted with responsibilities. In my second week at the company, I had to make my first solo-trip to Indonesia to work on agri-weather forecasting. A few months later, I was in Burundi collaborating with local farmers. Over the years, these early trips were followed by ones to Gambia, Angola, South Africa, Lesotho and Bangladesh. The cultural differences in how people live, work, and interpret weather forecasts are vast, and providing weather insights for the first time to communities in these regions was eye-opening. It’s a stark contrast to the services we have here in the Netherlands.

Closer to our home, in the Netherlands, Weather Impact focuses on bridging the gap between climate science and its practical daily application. The new KNMI climate scenarios play an essential role in this. I take pride in contributing to climate adaptative solutions, not just professionally but also from a personal perspective.

Impact first: a company ethos

The culture at Weather Impact feels like a family. I really enjoy being part of the team, and I find that we have a lot of fun together. Every year, we have various social activities, and the one that stands out to me was the sheep herding! Together, we had to learn how to herd sheep, and get them from A to B. You can imagine that it did not go smoothly at all!

I am proud of what the company has become and my role in it. We really do impactful work to help people where it is needed. And I have the privilege of leading a great team of happy people who care deeply about the difference they are making.

What sets us apart is our commitment to put impact first. We don’t take on every project that comes our way. While it may limit our growth, it also sets us apart. The climate is changing rapidly as we speak, and we need to work on people’s resilience. We are willing to go the extra mile, doing just a little bit extra if needed – even beyond the agreed project terms – if it means delivering even greater results.