Program Architecture: Sustainable Rural Development in Türkiye (2026–2030)

Executive Summary

The present program architecture outlines an integrated, fundable multi-donor program for a German non-governmental organization that will operate in rural regions of Türkiye starting in 2026. The program bundles five complementary sub-programs under a common umbrella. Each sub-program addresses specific challenges of rural development, agriculture, and environment in Türkiye and is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the priority action areas of the Turkish UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2026–2030. This ensures that all 17 SDGs are systematically considered and that measures are in line with national strategies and international development plans.

Initial Situation

Türkiye is currently undergoing an economic and structural adjustment phase. The macroeconomic situation is characterized by high inflation (over 30% in 2025) and efforts to transition to sustainable growth. In the long term, technology, green transformation, and rule-of-law-based development have been identified as keys to a balanced growth path. Although agriculture's share of the economy and employment is declining (only ~18% of the workforce, 5–6% of GDP), the agricultural sector remains central to rural incomes, exports, and food security. At the same time, rural areas are characterized by outmigration – only about 24.8% of the population lives in rural areas, with a declining trend. This development reflects inadequate income prospects and insufficient infrastructure and services, causing particularly young people to migrate.

Challenges

Agriculture faces acute problems such as water scarcity and climate risks, outdated structures, and pressure to increase export revenues with often low domestic value addition. The recent drought period of 2024/25 was the worst in 60 years – around 70% of the country suffered from extreme drought. Water reserves are critical; agriculture consumes about 74% of available water, much of it through inefficient irrigation. Without countermeasures, Türkiye's transition from water stress to water scarcity threatens to occur as early as 2030. Climate change intensifies droughts, already leading to crop failures, declining groundwater levels, and land subsidence.

Furthermore, soil degradation (e.g., erosion from overuse) and biodiversity loss burden rural ecosystems. Improper agricultural practices – such as excessive fertilizer and pesticide use – have decimated plant and insect diversity and deteriorated soil quality. Nearly 1,000 endemic plant species in Türkiye are already classified as endangered. Air quality also suffers regionally from agricultural fires and dust from soil erosion. At the same time, many villages lack adequate basic services (healthcare, education, water supply) and digital connections, which diminishes quality of life and encourages outmigration.

Opportunities

Despite these challenges, there are great opportunities to revitalize rural areas through sustainable development. Türkiye continues to rank among the global top-7 agricultural producers – with investments in climate-smart agriculture, productivity could be increased in a resource-conserving manner and food security (SDG 2) as well as resilience to climate shocks (SDG 13) could be improved. Through circular economy and local value chains, rural communities can benefit more from the agricultural sector instead of cheaply exporting raw products. Examples include on-site processing of agricultural products, reuse of organic waste (e.g., biogas, compost), and regional marketing initiatives – all of which increase income, create modest employment (SDG 8), and reduce environmental burdens (SDG 12).

Digitalization and modern infrastructure can better connect rural areas with markets and services, allowing education and health services to be improved decentrally (SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 9). Finally, active community engagement – through cooperatives, community centers, and municipal partnerships – offers the opportunity to strengthen social cohesion, empower women and youth (SDG 5, SDG 10), and enable local decision-makers to shape sustainable development themselves (SDG 16). These approaches align with the priorities of the new UN framework for Türkiye, which defines inclusive social services, green resilient economic growth, climate action, and good governance as pillars. In particular, the transition to sustainable agriculture, a green and circular economy, and digital innovation is seen by the UN and government as essential for achieving the SDGs.

Program Structure

Against this background, a program with five logically delineated sub-programs is proposed. Each sub-program has a clearly defined objective, addresses specific target groups, includes concrete fundable measures, and provides verifiable indicators for measuring success. Together, the five modules cover all relevant action areas and create synergies among each other to achieve holistic and sustainable impact. The structure allows multiple donors to participate – coordinated under one umbrella – in individual components or to jointly support the overall program.

Specifically planned are:

1. Sub-Program 1 – Climate-Smart Agriculture and Water Management: Promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and efficient water use to increase productivity, climate resilience, and water availability in the agricultural sector (SDG 2, 6, 13).
2. Sub-Program 2 – Environmental Protection and Climate Resilience in Rural Areas: Protection of soils, forests, and biodiversity, and strengthening the adaptive capacity of rural communities to climate change (SDG 13, 15).
3. Sub-Program 3 – Circular Economy and Local Value Creation: Development of community-oriented value chains and green rural enterprises to increase income, keep resources in circulation, and reduce export dependencies (SDG 8, 9, 12).
4. Sub-Program 4 – Digital Infrastructure and Smart Services: Expansion of digital infrastructure and innovative solutions to bridge the urban-rural divide, allowing rural populations better access to markets, education, health, and administration (SDG 9, 4, 3).
5. Sub-Program 5 – Social Participation and Community Development: Improvement of basic services such as education and health, promotion of community work and inclusive participation (especially for women, youth, and vulnerable groups), and strengthening of local partnerships and governance in rural regions (SDG 1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 16).

Each program is described below in the form of a program profile. These program sheets include objectives, target groups, planned measures, indicative performance indicators, and key implementation partners. Together they form a comprehensive, fact-based intervention package that meets the requirements for professional implementation and financial support by international donors, ministries, UN organizations, and operational NGOs.

Concluding Remarks

These five sub-programs together form a holistic and coherent overall program that addresses the central development obstacles in Türkiye's rural areas and shows solution paths in a logically comprehensible way. Each module stands fundable on its own, yet the programs interlock: For example, digitalization (SP 4) supports both agriculture (SP 1) and education/participation (SP 5); circular economy (SP 3) relieves the environment and creates income, which strengthens social cohesion (SP 5), etc.

Through orientation to the SDGs – all relevant goals from No Poverty (1) to Partnerships (17) have been considered – and alignment with Turkish development strategies (e.g., 12th Development Plan, UNSDCF 2026–2030), it is ensured that the program is compatible with existing initiatives and that international partners find broad connection points. The proposed program offers international donors, multilateral partners, ministries, and UN organizations a professional framework concept to advance sustainable development in Türkiye's rural regions together with an experienced German NGO – reliably, impact-oriented, and forward-looking.