Tackling rural poverty, together

The  2008 Global Development Marketplace (DM2008) is a grant competition held in collaboration with the  Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) team of the World Bank, entitled “Sustainable Agriculture for Development,” and supported by the Global Environment Facility, International Finance Corporation, and other partners. The competition is seeking innovations in three sub-themes: (i) linking small-scale farmers to input-output markets; (ii)  improving land access and tenure for the poor; and (iii)  promoting the environmental services of agriculture in addressing climate change and biodiversity conservation.

This competition offers a unique opportunity to turn an innovative idea for sustainable agriculture into reality. If selected, an idea can receive up to US$200,000 in grant funding for implementation over two years.

100 finalists were announced and invited to World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. in September 24-26 to vie for grants at theDM2008 Marketplace event. At the close of the Marketplace, 20 or more projects will be named winners.