RDP-9 was basically a poverty alleviation project along with a social development dimension. The overall objective was to improve the social and economic situation of the target groups, which consisted of landless rural people and marginal farmers, men and women, in the Project area. The specific objectives of the Project were [a] to organize the rural landless/asset less and marginal farmers into viable but separate economic groups; [b] to create employment opportunities for the target groups through provision of training, credit, and other inputs and through construction and upgrading of necessary rural infrastructures under RDP-8 (40% of the work of RDP-8 to be implemented by RDP-9 contracting groups); and [c] to improve the quality of life of the target groups through promotion of gainful economic activities in the farm and non-farm sectors.