The Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) has prepared a performance evaluation report on the Ardahan-Kars-Artvin Development Project (AKADP), in Turkey.

The project was implemented between 2010 and 2017 as a response to some of the country’s key rural agricultural development priorities, particularly the need to shift local practices from subsistence agriculture to more market-oriented ones. Targeting almost 60,000 households, AKADP sought to increase the incomes of poor smallholders and of small rural entrepreneurs and to improve rural infrastructure.

The evaluation found that the rural infrastructure improvements, particularly those related to rangeland roads, contributed to promoting the well-being and market access of smallholder farmers. Also, the modernization of livestock markets resulted in a noticeable increase in trade volume and contributed to the Government’s efforts to improve regulation of the livestock trade.

However, the project was less successful in addressing gender inequalities, partly because of the absence of a gender strategy and the lack of capacity to engage with women to identify and implement activities that responded to their needs and promoted their empowerment.

Moving forward, the evaluation recommends that IFAD should clarify guidance on the targeting approach and gender strategy, engaging in policy dialogue to ensure that laws and regulations do not pose barriers to women accessing public finances to farming activities.