Co-operation for Rural Development, Peace and Security

Austroprojekt GmbH was founded in 1995 as a consulting company and is active in the development aid area. The main focus is – apart from the promotion of sustainable agriculture – on areas like decentralization and local government, promotion of small and medium artisan enterprises, preservation of the environment and natural resources, public health services and management of water resources. Involvement in the areas of environmental and resource protection has led to increasing efforts aimed at dealing with conflicts and their solution. In turn, this has resulted in a new thematic focus within the framework of civil society and regional institutions in West Africa.

The team of local and international experts has implemented more than 150 projects up to date, mainly within the framework of the Austrian bilateral development co-operation. Besides planning, implementation and evaluation of long-term rural development projects Austroprojekt also executes baseline and feasibility studies.

The team tries to contribute to poverty reduction in rural areas by means of the satisfaction of basic needs like sanitation, health and education. As the projects are generally focused on the promotion of economic activities, they do not necessarily affect the very poor. Nevertheless, Austroprojekt conceives the regional dissemination of activities in the project area in a way to produce trickle down effects that also benefit people who are not directly targeted by the projects.