Oyo to fix 200km rural roads

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Monday, said that the state would soon fix at least 200 kilometres of rural roads through the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).

The governor said that his administration was committed to improving the agricultural outputs of the state so that it could take its pride of place and take many unemployed youths out of the streets.

He stated this while receiving the delegates of the African Development Bank (AfDB), International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

He said: “We are excited about this programme, because the four pillars, which this administration is standing upon are education, health, expansion of our economy and security. And in expanding our economy, we are looking towards where we have a comparative advantage and that is agriculture.

“We are keen to take our space in terms of agricultural outputs. So, this could not have come at a better time for us and, as an administration, because we want to take many of our unemployed youths off the streets, we know agriculture and agribusiness is the way to go.”

Makinde commended the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) for the commitment to fixing over 200 kilometres of rural roads in the state.

He added that the special Agro-Processing Zones (SAPZ) Project will also have the support of the government of the state at the topmost level.

Earlier, the team lead of the African Development Bank, Dr. Chucks Ezedinma, said the Bank is currently in the country to undertake what it calls the Special Agro- Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs).

He said the programme is designed for six states and that Oyo State is one of the beneficiary states.