The project's objective was to reduce poverty in the 7 provinces of the northern mountainous region. Its immediate objectives included the establishment of an efficient production base and rural development in order to enhance the farmers’ living standard and to give a working opportunity to the farmers in the 7 provinces. The expected outputs were the formulation of a master plan for the whole study area with recommendation for priority order of development, and a project evaluation from technical, economic and socio-economic viewpoints. It targeted 4.21 million inhabitants in the 7 northern mountainous provinces.