The Federal Government, in collaboration with the World Bank, has allocated $600m to rehabilitate 200,000 kilometres of rural roads under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project.
According to The PUNCH, the Principal Information Officer at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ogbuagu Chika, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, revealed that the World Bank is contributing $500m, while the federal and state governments will provide $100m as counterpart funding.
Abdullahi 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 minister noted that “80 per cent of 200, 000 kilometres of rural roads are impassable, negatively affecting economic activities in rural areas.”
