Rural communities are experiencing a drastic shift in their populations as more and more people choose to move to urban areas in search of employment. This shift presents significant challenges to the survival of those rural communities.  Without jobs and people, rural communities face challenges of survival with decreasing tax dollars, income generation for local businesses and enrolment in local schools.

Local community leaders see hazelnuts as an opportunity. Hazelnuts, as a differentiated crop, have great potential to grow with new food processors and penetrate the ever-growing local and artisanal food production.

See full article here [1].