Rural Access Economic Prioritization in Zamfara State

Abstract

Accessibility is a measure of how easy it is to get somewhere in less time and with less effort, whereas Mobility is a measure of how easily individuals can move around. Isolation may result from a lack of accessibility and mobility, limiting access to essential health, education, safe drinking water, and other social services. Rural Access and Mobility’s goals are to develop basic infrastructure, reduce poverty, and foster an investment-friendly climate. A number of suitable rural roads in Zamfara State were discovered, vetted, and ranked using the basic access approach and the Multicriteria method (MCA) of prioritisation of potential interventions. The MCA method of prioritization prioritized the candidate roads fairly for the three senatorial districts in Zamfara State, taking into account the Economic and Social advantages, Demographic distribution, and Environmental sustainability. Out of the basic inventory data of rural roads analyzed in the State, 21 No roads totaling 510Km of rural infrastructure were visually assessed and electronically geo-referenced. The need for a collaborative effort between the Federal Government of Nigeria, States, Local Governments, and other donor agencies in commissioning consultants to undertake Topographical Digital Mapping of the nation’s rural communities is an important observation made during the course of the Prioritization Study. This will go a long way toward overcoming the data accessibility, reliability, and affordability gaps for future project implementation success.