The Oyo State Government has completed 88.92 kilometres of rural roads and constructed three modern markets under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Olasunkanmi Olaleye, disclosed this on Wednesday during an inspection of the projects in Akinyele, Ido, Oluyole, and Ona Ara Local Government Areas.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Ibadan, Olaleye said the projects, which cost N16.2 billion, were part of the government’s efforts to reduce rural-urban migration and improve access to farms and markets across the state.
He noted that the programme aims to enhance rural connectivity and strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable road development, maintenance, and administration.
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“The goal is to link farming communities to economic opportunities and reduce the cost of food for consumers,” he stated.
Olaleye explained that the first phase of the project is a collaboration between the Oyo State Government and the World Bank, designed to address long-standing challenges faced by rural farmers and ensure produce reaches markets on time.
“For rural roads, we have completed surface dressing of the road from Alako Idi-Iya to Batake to Ijaye Farm Settlement. We also completed the road from Adebayo-Alata to Aba Oje. All the rural roads done under phase one total about 88.92 kilometres,” he said.
The commissioner added that work is ongoing on several other roads, including Fasola Farm Settlement Road, Interchange/Oloko Road in Oyo, Ikere Gorge Dam Road in Iseyin, Tewure-Ila Junction in Oriire Local Government Area, and Okudi-Oyada Road in Atisbo Local Government Area.
On the market projects, he said the government has completed the construction of Akanran, Oja-Oba (Igboora), and Oja-Agbe (Iseyin) markets.
“The whole idea is to create access for rural people and farming communities to bring their produce to the market, while enabling consumers to buy fresh farm produce. This will help farmers, consumers, and the entire community to grow,” he stated.
