With the agreement signed between the Ministry of Development of the Republic of Turkey, Eastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration (DAP) and TUBITAK TUSSIDE, the evaluation/closing meeting of the "Project for Determining Strategies for Commercialization of Local Products of DAP Region" was held in Erzurum on 18 January 2017 under the consultancy of TUSSIDE.

At the closing seminar, which was held with the participation of the stakeholders of the sector, including private sector representatives, universities, unions and relevant public institutions, the activities carried out within the scope of the project, the results obtained and the strategies developed were presented to the participants.

The project was implemented with the aim of creating significant income and employment for the region and supporting sustainable development through the commercialization of local products with high added value. Within the scope of the project, in-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders in 14 provinces in the region for data collection purposes, and surveys were applied to consumers outside the region in order to measure consumer trends towards local products in the Eastern Anatolia Region. A "Local Product Inventory" was created for the region by using the results of in-depth interviews and the information, documents and reports collected from the region during the interviews.

Using the interviews and survey data, commercialization values were calculated for the products included in the local product inventory. Based on the commercialization values of the products, "Red Meat" and "Honey" products were selected among the products in the local product inventory.

Product-based literature research, market and competition analysis studies, in-depth interviews, surveys and workshops were carried out for the "Red Meat and Honey" products selected based on their commercialization value, and the current situation regarding the products was determined. Taste tests and laboratory analyses were carried out for the products selected within the scope of the project, and the results regarding the taste / flavor and technical characteristics of the products were revealed.

Based on the results of the current situation analysis, commercialization strategies for the products have been developed and an exemplary implementation model has been proposed for the realization of these strategies.

The results shared with the DAP Regional Development Administration will constitute an important input for national and regional planning on the local products of the Eastern Anatolia Region in the coming period.