Turkey’s High Development Agency has approved an action plan (“Action Plan”) to support rural development during the 2015 to 2018 period. The Action Plan aims to develop the quality of life in Turkey’s countryside, to become equivalent to the national average, as well as to sustainably improve rural working and living conditions in becoming synchronized with urban areas.
The Action Plan outlines five strategic aims, 11 urgencies and 40 measures for Turkey’s national rural development policy in 2015 to 2018. Strategic aims and sub-categories include:
- Improving the economy and increasing rural employment opportunities
- Improving the competitive capacity of food and farming
- Diversifying the rural economy
- Curing the rural environment and maintaining continuity of natural resources
- Maintaining soil and water resources
- Providing effectiveness in use of soil land
- Maintaining forest resources
- Improving the social and psychical infrastructure of rural settlements
- Improving the human capital of rural society and decreasing poverty
- Improving corporate capacity for local progress
- Improving the service delivery capacity of public
- Empowering enterprises towards local progress
The Action Plan was published in Official Gazette number 29729 on 1 June 2016. Please see this link for full text of the Action Plan (only available in Turkish).