The Federal Government is pursuing a $500 million loan from the World Bank to enhance rural road infrastructure and agricultural marketing.
This initiative is outlined in the final draft of the Resettlement Policy Framework for the Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project Scale-Up (RAAMP-SU), spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The funding aims to improve connectivity for the 92 million Nigerians currently without access to quality roads.
According to the policy document, “Nigeria’s road network is relatively extensive, covering about 194,000 kilometers, which includes 34,000 kilometers of federal roads, 30,000 kilometers of state roads, and 130,000 kilometers of registered rural roads.
Despite this, only 25.5% of the rural population lives within 2 kilometers of an all-weather road, leaving approximately 92 million rural residents disconnected.”
The lack of access is most severe in economically disadvantaged areas, highlighting the need for a more expansive and improved rural road network to enhance rural transport assets.
RAAMP-SU’s primary goal is to boost rural access and climate resilience, thereby enhancing agricultural productivity and marketing opportunities for rural communities, ultimately improving their livelihoods.
The project aims to enhance rural access, strengthen institutional capacity for road management, and ensure sustainable management of rural and state road networks.
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Building on the earlier Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, which received support from the World Bank and the French Development Agency, RAAMP-SU is led by the Federal Department of Rural Development within the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with oversight by the Federal Project Management Unit.
The total cost of RAAMP-SU is estimated at $600 million, with the World Bank expected to cover 83.33% of the funding. This commitment is 79% higher than the initial World Bank pledge of $280 million for the parent project.
The project will finance three main components: Improvement of Resilient Rural Access ($387 million), Climate Resilient Asset Management ($158 million), and Institutional Strengthening and Project Management ($55 million).
For states to participate in the project, they must have a fully functional Roads Fund and Roads Agency with appointed boards and staff, and provisions for administrative costs included in the state budget. This requirement goes beyond the initial RAAMP criteria, which only required drafting and placing Road Fund and Roads Agency bills in state assemblies.
The project also aims to promote women’s representation in the transport sector, offering an opportunity to foster greater gender inclusion in this field.
