The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) on Monday announced a collaboration with the World Bank, to allocate $600m to rehabilitate 200,000 kilometres of rural roads under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Aliyu Abdullahi, revealed that the World Bank would disburse $500m, while a $100m counterpart funding would come from the federal and state governments.
He said most of Nigeria’s population resides in rural areas, and agriculture constitutes over 70 per cent of their economic activity.
However, the lack of functional rural roads limits their ability to market their produce and sustain their livelihoods.
According to him, 80 per cent of the 200,000 kilometres of rural roads are impassable, negatively affecting economic activities in rural areas.
He said, “This initiative aligns with the agenda of President Bola Tinubu, focusing on food security, inclusivity, poverty eradication, and job creation.
“it is a very strong collaboration with the World Bank, and based on what the project has achieved thus far, almost all the states of the federation are asking for onboarding, so they also can benefit from the massive success of this project’s delivery.
“But as part of the review, all parties are in agreement that we must include sustainability elements going forward” the Minister stated.
Abdullahi further revealed that the RAAMP initiative, already operational in 19 states, focuses on creating sustainable rural infrastructure.
According to him, the states are required to establish rural access road authorities and state road funds to ensure road maintenance and sustainability.
He further disclosed that 16 of the 19 participating states had already passed legislation to establish these institutions.
The National Coordinator, RAAMP, Aminu Mohammed, pointed out that the project was basically to improve rural road networks and enhance agricultural marketing at that level.