Bayelsa State Government says it is making moves to establish a Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) to enhance agro-logistics and improve markets through the development, maintenance, and management of rural road networks.
This initiative was disclosed by the State Project Coordinator, Dr Paul Ebienfa, during a stakeholders consultative meeting between consultants engaged by the World Bank, Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU), and relevant stakeholders in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State Capital.
Speaking further, he said that the project is funded in partnership with the World Bank, French Development Agency, Federal Government of Nigeria, and Bayelsa State Government to improve road and transportation access for rural farmers/fishermen to farms, fish settlements,, and markets.
According to him, part of the conditions to win the project from the funding partners is to introduce a sustainable plan by establishing the Rural Access and Road Agency (RARA) and State Road Fund (SRF) as part of the criteria needed in all RAAMP States.
He further noted that RAAMP is Operational in 19 states of the Federation but that Bayelsa is yet to be declared effective and has not started receiving funds from the World Bank, because the project is still in the formative stage with selected roads and markets cutting across the eight Local Government Areas.
Also speaking at the meeting, Dr. Wisdom Ebiye Sawyer, the permanent secretary of the State Ministry of Agriculture and chairman of RAAMP, disclosed that the governor of the state, Senator Douye Diri, has approved the design of 80km roads across the eight Local Government Area of the State.
He said, “This is what is keeping Bayelsa State top as one of the states that would benefit from the program this year. And once these roads are constructed, the blue economy of Bayelsa State would be boosted and our local economy would grow.”
For Mr. Tarinyo Akono, a former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council, to discuss the best modalities for the formation of RARA and SRF for the implementation of the RAAMP project in the state.
Speaking to newsmen, he said, “The World Bank gave us a condition and met all of them. But they brought up the condition of a sustainability plan, which has resulted in this stakeholders meeting intended to establish the SFR and RARA that would help to raise funds from the private sector to maintain the rural roads.”
