[Pil-pc-oceania] Fwd: World Bank offering US$4 million in grants for innovations in sustainable agriculture

Wed Feb 6 07:26:12 EST 2008

Message below forwarded FYI from SANET mailing group.

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Robyn Williamson
APC9 Secretariat
info at apc9.org.au
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Begin forwarded message:

> Date:    Mon, 4 Feb 2008 09:47:15 -0500
> From:    Andy Clark <san at SARE.ORG>
> Subject: World Bank offering US$4 million in grants for innovations  
> in sustainable agriculture
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
> All,
>
> I have included 2 separate press releases about this program,  
> pasted below.
>
> Andy
> _____________________________
>
> The 2008 Global Development Marketplace Competition is now  
> accepting proposals!
>
> January 22 - HELP GET THE WORD OUT!  The 2008 Global Development  
> Marketplace (DM2008) competition began today its search for early- 
> stage, innovative ideas with potential for high impact in promoting  
> Sustainable Agriculture for Development.
>
> APPLY NOW! Proposals are welcome from all innovators: civil society  
> groups, foundations and development agencies in the country of  
> implementation can submit their ideas. Other applicants -  
> individuals, government entities and businesses - can also apply,  
> but only if they work with a local partner.
>
> DM2008 is specifically focused on the agricultural challenges  
> related to:
>
> *         linking small-scale farmers to input and product markets;
> *         improving land access and tenure for poor farmers; and
> *         promoting the environmental services of agriculture in  
> addressing climate change and biodiversity conservation.
>
> A total of US$4 million in awards is available, with a maximum  
> award size of US$200,000 per project. The call for proposals closes  
> on March 21, 2008 (23:00 GMT time). Applications will undergo a  
> rigorous review drawing on hundreds of development experts, who  
> will narrow down the pool of finalists to about 100 finalists.
>
> The DM will then bring the finalists to Washington DC for the  
> Marketplace event on September 24-25, 2008. Finalists will  
> participate in knowledge exchange workshops and will present their  
> ideas to the public, World Bank staff and an international jury  
> comprised of senior development specialists. Some 25-30 winners  
> will be announced at the close of the Marketplace.
>
> Proposals must be written in English and submitted through the DM  
> website, www.developmentmarketplace.org <http:// 
> www.developmentmarketplace.org/> . Competition guidelines and step- 
> by-step instructions are available in Arabic, Chinese, English,  
> French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
>
> Submissions Deadline: March 21, 2008
> Announcement of Finalists: June 23, 2008
> Marketplace Event: September 24-25, 2008
> ________________________________________
>
> WORLD BANK News Release No. 2008/192/SDN
> In Washington: Kristina Stefanova +1 202 473-0792
> kstefanova at worldbank.org <mailto:kstefanova at worldbank.org>
>
> World Bank offering US$4 million in grants for innovations in  
> agriculture
>
> Washington, DC January 22, 2008 - The 2008 Global Development  
> Marketplace (DM2008) competition was launched today, offering $4  
> million in grants to social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas  
> that have potential for high impact in promoting sustainable  
> agriculture.
>
> The competition this year is focused on the theme of "Sustainable  
> Agriculture for Development." It is asking participants to focus on  
> solutions to agricultural challenges in developing countries such  
> as linking small-scale farmers to markets; improving land access  
> for poor farmers; and promoting the environmental services of  
> agriculture in addressing climate change and biodiversity  
> conservation.
>
> DM2008 awards will support 25-30 of the most innovative ideas that  
> advance sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Typically,  
> DM competitions attract close to 3,000 applicants, which are then  
> narrowed down to about 100 finalists. Finalists of DM2008 will be  
> invited to the competition's Mark=
> etplace event in Washington, September 24-25, to compete for grants  
> and participate in knowledge exchange activities.
>
> "The Development Marketplace has proven to be an effective  
> mechanism for identifying innovative projects with great  
> development potential," said Katherine Sierra, Vice President of  
> the Sustainable Development Network, who oversees the World Bank's  
> agriculture portfolio. "Tapping into that resource is a valuable  
> opportunity to identify and support emerging ideas within  
> sustainable agriculture."
>
> Global DM competitions are held every 12 to 18 months. Since 1998,  
> they have awarded more than $30 million to nearly 300 projects  
> worldwide. Past competitions have identified and funded innovative  
> ideas including: a new water pump in Zimbabwe made from common  
> waste materials; promoting literacy in I=
> ndia by placing same language subtitles on popular Hindi music  
> videos; and creating an agriculture e-marketplace that provides  
> price updates via cell phone text messaging to small farmers in the  
> Philippines.
>
> As a seed-funder, The Development Marketplace serves as a launching  
> pad for projects to prove their concept, scale-up, or replicate. In  
> the words of Trevor Field, a winner from the 2003 competition:  
> "Without [Development Marketplace] funding, we'd still be in our  
> infancy. Now we can fly."
>
> The themes of DM2008 stem from the recently published World  
> Development Report (WDR) 2008. Sierra said the WDR renews the  
> consensus on the positive role that agriculture can provide as an  
> engine of growth, an instrument of poverty alleviation, and as a  
> provider of environmental services.
>
> Eligibility criteria, competition guidelines and step-by-step  
> instructions are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French,  
> Portuguese, Russian and Spanish at the DM website:  
> www.developmentmarketplace.org <http:// 
> www.developmentmarketplace.org/> . Proposals will be accepted in  
> English only through March 21, 2008 (23:00 GMT).
>
>
> ###
>
> For more information about the World Bank visit www.worldbank.org  
> <http://www.worldbank.org/>
>
> For more information about the Development Marketplace in Africa  
> visit www.developmentmarketplace.org <http:// 
> www.developmentmarketplace.org/>
>
> For more information about the World Bank's role in Agriculture and  
> Rural Development visit
>
> http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTARD/0,,menuPK: 
> 336688~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:336682,00.html
>
> ********************************************************