Giel Ton graduated as an agricultural economist in Wageningen University. He worked from 1989-1996 in Nicaragua with a local farmer association, and from 1998-2004 for the national coordinating platform of economic farmer organisations in Bolivia.
Since 2006, he works in the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI Wageningen UR), as a senior researcher. Ongoing research projects relate with innovation grant systems, inclusive business models, collective marketing arrangements, certification programmes, often related with impact evaluation and mixed-methods designs.