IMPACT ASSESSMENT STUDY WITHIN THE SCOPE OF ARDAHAN KARS ARTVIN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

1.       The main objective of the AKADP is to improve the rural poverty conditions in Ardahan Kars and Artvin provinces. Project activities are organized under three components (i) smallholder and non-farm enterprise investments (ii) village infrastructure investments (iii) institutional strengthening and project management.

2.       The total project cost is $26.4 million. IFAD contributes $19.2 million (73%), beneficiary contributions are $4 million (15%), Government of Turkey contributes $1 million (4%) and the remaining $2 million (8%) is the added value from government taxes.

3.       Project area covers one of the least developed and the poorest regions of Turkey. The population is heavily located in rural areas where the income depends on low input/low output agriculture sector. Project target group uses traditional methods in agriculture and livestock practices with limited access to capital and therefore the production model operates based on family farms without plans for growth and transforming into economically viable businesses. This situation causes lack of confidence in economic development and unwillingness to improve rural poverty.

4.       Project target group is economically active livestock and agriculture producers who want to move towards more commercialized business models. Target group is defined as livestock producers with less than 20 registered cattle and horticultural crop producers with 0.3-0.5 ha of vegetable plot or small greenhouse. Project also supports non-agriculture sectors in project villages that have economic growth potential such as rural tourism.

5.       This Terms of Reference deals with hiring a suitably qualified and experienced consultancy company (henceforth referred to as 'consultant') to undertake the proposed Impact Assessment of the Project. The methodology for impact assessment will involve both quantitative and qualitative approaches. 

6.       The project is being implemented in the following districts of Ardahan, Kars, and Artvin provinces:

1.         Ardahan: Ardahan Centre, Çıldır, Damal, Göle, Hanak, and Posof;
2.        Kars: Arpaçay, Kağızman, Sarıkamış, and Selim;
3.         Artvin: Artvin Centre, Ardanuç, Şavşat, and Yusufeli.

The objective of the Impact Assessment is to assess the physical and socio-economic status of the targeted areas and their households where the AKADP is being implemented. In addition, using the Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and case studies methods, the aim is to assess beneficiaries' experiences and their perceptions of the projects' effectiveness, document successes, challenges and lessons learned, and develop recommendations for future.

The assessment should: (i) focus on key indicators required to measure the goals, outcomes and impact of the planned activities as it was mentioned in the Project’s Logical Framework (see Annex 1); (ii) Provide comparison with the selected baseline survey indicators that was conducted for the AKADP; iii) Assess how the AKADP was successful in relation to the five evaluation criteria (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact) and (iv) Evaluate the specific strategy and tactics for the areas of concern as outlined in Appendix 2 in relation to design and implementation modalities.