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The World Bank has been approached by the Federal Government for a $500m loan to improve rural road infrastructure and agricultural marketing throughout the country.
The funding is intended to address the lack of good roads in rural Nigeria, where 92 million people currently do not have access to proper transportation.
This loan request is part of the final draft of the Resettlement Policy Framework for the Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project Scale-UP, which is being carried out by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The goal of the project is to enhance rural access and climate resilience, ultimately leading to improved agricultural potential and marketing opportunities for farming communities, and subsequently improving the livelihoods of rural residents.
The RAAMP-SU initiative builds upon the previous Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, which was backed by the World Bank and the French Development Agency and overseen by the Federal Department of Rural Development within the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with supervision from the Federal Project Management Unit.
According to the policy document, Nigeria has a relatively extensive road network, with approximately 194,000 kilometers of roads, including 34,000 kilometers of federal roads, 30,000 kilometers of state roads, and 130,000 kilometers of registered rural roads.
However, the rural accessibility index for Nigeria is only 25.5%, meaning that about 92 million rural residents lack access to all-weather roads within 2 kilometers of their communities.
This lack of access is particularly pronounced in economically disadvantaged areas, highlighting the need to expand and improve the rural road network and preserve rural road and transportation infrastructure.
The estimated total cost of the RAAMP-SU project is $600 million, with the World Bank expected to provide 83.33% of the necessary funding. This commitment amount is 79% higher than the initial World Bank commitment of $280 million for the main project. The project will allocate funds to three main components: Improvement of Resilient Rural Access ($387 million), Climate Resilient Asset Management ($158 million), and Institutional Strengthening and Project Management ($55 million).
According to the policy document, states that wish to participate in the project must have a fully operational Roads Fund and Roads Agency with appointed boards and staff, as well as provisions for administrative costs in the state budget.
The document also states that participation in RAAMP requires the drafting and placement of Road Fund and Roads Agency bills in the State house of assemblies, and the new project would require the same, in addition to fostering women’s representation in the transport sector.
The funds for RAAMP-SU will be competitively allocated between states based on a refined socioeconomic selection matrix to increase rural access to basic services and promote food security, activities readiness in terms of design, and the state's demonstrated commitment to efficient infrastructure maintenance, including potential co-financing from their resources.
The policy framework mandates that the implementation of resettlement and compensation plans is a prerequisite for project activities that cause resettlement. Compensation and other assistance are expected to be provided before displacement, ensuring that necessary measures for resettlement and compensation are in place before any land acquisition or restriction of access.
