by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
For the purpose of enhancing food production and also improve market access, the Federal Government, in collaboration with the World Bank, has allocated $600 million to rehabilitate 200,000 kilometers of rural roads under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) in Nigeria.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, disclosed this during a press briefing held in his office, in Abuja recently, saying that World Bank would disburse $500 million, while a $100 million counterpart funding would come from the federal and state governments.
Abdullahi revealed that the RAAMP initiative, already operational in 19 states, focuses on creating sustainable rural infrastructure, stressing that, 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 minister noted that, 80 percent of 200,000 kilometres of rural roads are impassable, negatively affecting economic activities in rural areas.
“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.
“This initiative aligns with the agenda of President Bola Tinubu, focusing on food security, inclusivity, poverty eradication, and job creation,” the Minister stated.
He added that, “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 on-boarding, 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,” he said.
The National Coordinator of RAAMP, Aminu Mohammed, earlier in a remark, pointed out that RAAMP was basically to improve rural road networks and enhance agricultural marketing at that level.