Ordu-Giresun Rural Development Project

Poor villages in the eastern Black Sea region were the target of the project’s activities. The aim was to improve inadequate infrastructure and develop communal grazing and forestry. The project’s main objective was to enable poor people to improve their living standards and increase their income through sustainable use of natural resources. The area has substantial unexploited potential in vast Alpine pastures. hazelnut forests for fodder and abundant resources of fresh water for fish farming, all of which could contribute to increasing farmers’ incomes.

The participation of poor people in village development plans was an important feature of the project. Villagers determined opportunities and priorities and agreed on implementation of activities within the budget allotted by the project.

The project enabled households to increase income by:

• supporting livestock and crop production such as hazelnut production and alternative income-generating activities such as bee-keeping
• increasing forestry activities such as wood production and improving rangeland grazing

developing access to feeder roads and rehabilitating and constructing irrigation systems and domestic water systems, and ensuring their maintenance

Source: IFAD