The Federal Government, in collaboration with the World Bank, has allocated $600m for rehabilitation of 200,000 kilometres of rural roads under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).
Principal Information Officer, Ogbuagu Chika, disclosed this in a statement on Monday at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
During a press briefing in Abuja, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed that the World Bank would contribute $500m, while the federal and state governments would contribute $100m as counterpart funding.
He added that the RAAMP initiative which had become operational in 19 states would focus on creating sustainable rural infrastructure.
He also disclosed that 16 of the 19 participating states had already passed legislation for the project.
“Most of Nigeria’s population resides in rural areas, and agriculture constitutes over 70 per cent of their economic activities. However, the lack of functional rural roads limits their ability to market their produce and sustain their livelihoods,” he said.
“This initiative aligns with the agenda of President Bola Tinubu, focusing on food security, inclusivity, poverty eradication, and job creation, “the Minister stated.”
“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 National Coordinator, RAAMP, Aminu Mohammed, earlier in a remark, pointed out that RAAMP aimed at improving rural road networks and enhancing agricultural marketing at that level.
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