The Governor Yahaya Bello administration has signed two separate subsidiary loan agreements, totalling $72 million, with the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The loan is meant for rural roads, agriculture market and value chain development, Mohammed Onogu, the governor’s spokesman, said in a statement sent to journalists on Friday in Lokoja.

Mr. Onogu said the state Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Asiru Idris, signed the agreements on behalf of the State Government.

He explained that the loans comprise $62 million from the World Bank and $10 million from IFAD.

“The IFAD-assisted Value Chain Development Programme is an agricultural initiative aimed at reducing rural poverty, enhancing food security among the poor households and promoting economic growth on a sustainable basis.

“The programme is essentially on the production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava in targeted Local Government Areas in the state.

“The programme is made up of three basic components which are: Agricultural Market development, to support value addition, market linkages and support to market infrastructure and to build a very strong agribusiness and value chain orientation to farmers in rural communities,” he said.

The spokesman also said that the other component was the smaller productivity enhancement, while the third programme was management and coordination.

“The World Bank loan for Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) will upgrade over 500 kilometres of rural roads, improve agro-logistics centres as well as enhance connectivity and access to local markets and agribusiness services in the state.

“The project is to be jointly funded by the World Bank, French Development Agency and the Government of Nigeria,” he said.