Abstract
The European Union (EU) provides financial assistance to the countries that are the current candidates and the potential candidates for the development of rural areas. These countries are supported by rural development (RD), one of the five components of the instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA). Turkey is also a candidate country to benefit from the financial assistance provided by the EU. This research aims to reveal the situation of the projects carried out with IPARD in Çanakkale province within the country. As a matter of fact, Çanakkale takes place at the lower ranks in terms of the number of projects and the number of grants. Despite its potential, the reasons for not achieving the desired results in this province are the lack of qualified consultants, insufficient access to beneficiaries, and problems in licensing of lands. This research, thus, has also put forward various solution suggestions in order to minimize these problems.
Top2. Rural Development, Ipa And Ipard Program Concepts
The concept of rural development is used closely with concepts such as village development, community development, and agricultural development (Bakırcı, 2007: 33). Rural, one of the basic components of rural development, is a relative concept. Components such as the socio-economic status of the countries, population and population densities differentiate the presentation of the concept. One of the most commonly used definitions relates to economic activity. According to this definition, the places where agriculture is the main occupation are defined as rural (Lerner and Eakin, 2010). Again, the concept is explained through exclusion. In other words, all of the non-urban places are considered as rural (Anriquez and Stamoulis, 2007). When the concept is considered in terms of population, generally settlements with a population of less than 5 thousand are expressed as rural. On the population density axis, areas with relatively low population density of their surrounding settlements are called rural areas. (Stockbridge and Dorward, 2015: 16). The second component of rural development is the development concept. When it is expressed as a modern concept, development involves the reorganization of social, economic and political processes. With the development, it is aimed to increase the quality of life of individuals (Pearson, 1992).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance Rural Development (IPARD): It is the rural development component of the financial aid provided by the European Union to candidate and potential candidate countries.
Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA): It is the financial aid tool provided by the European Union to candidate and potential candidate countries.
Rural Area: They are settlements where population density is low, and production is based on agriculture and animal husbandry.
Rural Development: These are strategies that aim to improve the living standards of individuals living in rural areas and to reduce the development differences between regions.
Rural Development Policies: These are policies that aim to eliminate the disadvantages of rural areas. Often these policies are created to address education, health, and infrastructure deficiencies.
Agricultural and Rural Development Support Institution (ARDSI): It is a public legal entity with a special budget, administrative and financial autonomy that ensures the delivery of European Union and international funds to small and medium-sized enterprises in Turkey.