DM08: Global Competition on Sustainable Agriculture

The 2008 Development Marketplace (DM) global competition on Sustainable Agriculture
received 1,768 proposals from around the world addressing three key issues: linking small-scale farmers to markets, improving land access and tenure for the poor,
and addressing the challenges of climate change and biodiversity. These sub-themes address the functions of agriculture for development as an engine for growth, an instrument of poverty alleviation, and a provider of environmental services as stated in the World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. The 2008 global competition is organized with the Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD) team of the World Bank with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), GTZ and other partners.

On June 23, 2008 the DM announced the 100 finalists from 42 countries that will
compete for grant funding at the Marketplace Event in September 2008. This year's finalists were announced in the midst of a global crisis that has placed agriculture at the top of government agendas worldwide. Global discussion on long term strategy emphasizes the need to find new solutions to boost developing countries' agricultural products and productivity, and to invest in small farmers, agribusiness, and agricultural research. Some solutions to the food price crisis could come from this year's Development Marketplace, according to the assessors who evaluated the proposals. "Innovation is going to be key at this time," observed Sara Scherr, DM08 assessor and president of Ecoagriculture, an international NGO, "the kind of innovation that needs to accelerate globally if we want to increase by 50 or 100 percent food production, and still having benefits for restoring biodiversity and protecting watershed. There are quite a few projects in the DM08 that I feel really are in the direction we need to support with investment and programming."

The selected proposals come from a broad range of innovators, including civil society organizations, social entrepreneurs, academia and businesses. The top nine countries of implementation are India (10), Kenya (9), the Philippines (7), Brazil (5), Ecuador (4), Ghana (4), Nepal (4), Tanzania (4) and Vietnam (4). During the DM08 Marketplace Event (September 24-26) finalists will present their ideas to Jurors, World Bank staff, sector specialists, representatives from  non-governmental organizations and the media.

On September 26, the DM Awards Ceremony will be followed by an ARD- hosted policy dialogue to explore possibilities for innovation in the food price crisis response. Both  events are free and open to the public. To register before September 16 visit:   www.developmentmarketplace.org