COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS MADE BY DIFFERENT AGENTS IN RURAL ANKARA: ANKARA DEVELOPMENT AGENCY CASE

This study mainly argues of OECD rural paradigm through the different types of grant mechanisms carried out in rural Ankara. In general terms, the main aim of this study is to examine profoundly the support mechanisms that are conducted by four public agents for development of rural areas, which are classified according to the OECD definition, in last decade and specifically analyse the activities of Ankara Development Agency in comparison with old approaches and grants as a case study. Of the grants, the Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institute, which is funded by EU, is the one who granted more than TL 200,000,000 of which more than 89 % has been used for investment into agricultural holdings in Ankara since 2011. The projects of Special Provincial Administration and the Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock are basically infrastructure in villages and agro-based industries, respectively. The type of support given by Ankara Development Agency when compared with others becomes considerably dissimilar. Not only does Ankara Development Agency carries out economic programmes in rural areas but it also conducts some social development programmes as well as technical assistance covering training and consultancy service and direct activity support for strategic research, planning and feasibility studies. Ankara Development Agency has supported a significant number of projects for a total budget of TL 12,019,664 in reducing intra-regional differences in terms of development during 2010-2014. Accordingly, around 22 % of the subsidized projects under the direct financial support made by Ankara Development Agency have been implemented in rural parts of Ankara since its establishment in 2010. Similarly, approximately 25 % of the direct activity support and technical support has been used by agents whom settled in rural areas. It is concluded that there is a spectacular progress in rural areas through the projects and implementations made by Ankara Development Agency in the short run and the tacit knowledge and local dynamics of rural areas in Ankara will be successfully revealed with concerted efforts of related agents in the long run.