Section 5: Functions of the Directorate.

Subject to this Act, the Directorate shall be charged with the following functions, that is-(a) to identify, involve and support viable local community organisations in the effective mobilisation of the rural population for sustained rural developmental activities, bearing in mind the need for promoting greater community participation and economic self reliance of the rural community;
(b) to identify areas of high production potential for the country's priority food and fibre requirement and to support production of such commodities along agro-ecological zones within the context of one national market with unimpeded inter-State trade in farm produce;
(c) to formulate and support a national rural feeder-road network programme involving construction, rehabilitation, improvement and maintenance especially in relation to the nation's food self-sufficiency programme as well as general rural development;
(d) to formulate and support a national rural water-supply programme with emphasis on full initial involvement of local communities and local government personnel to ensure sustained maintenance of built infrastructures;
(e) to identify and promote other programmes that would enhance greater productive economic activities in the rural areas as well as help to improve the quality of life and standard of living of the rural people;
(f) to encourage contribution of labour, time and materials by local communities to be complemented by a system of matching grants from the Directorate, local and State Governments;
(g) to support the development of information gathering, maintenance and evaluation of culture in rural development programming, with emphasis on utilisation of existing agencies with demonstrated competence in the area of management information systems in agriculture and rural development, rural infrastructures, agronomy, agricultural extension, including the continuous generation of basic data on rural infrastructures in each of the local government areas in Nigeria;
(h) to commission and support studies and research projects that will facilitate the execution of the functions of the Directorate;
(i) to determine within each local government area the community basis of rural productive organisation as a means of mobilising food and other products for more effective service delivery, infrastructural development and enhanced productivity;
(j) to identify and involve local community leaders and organisations in the effective mobilisation of the rural population for sustained development activities, bearing in mind the need for promoting greater social participation and economic self-reliance in the community;
(k)
to liaise with Federal Government Ministries and agencies in the design and implementation of programmes and projects in the field of food production and processing, rural water supply, road construction and maintenance and the provision of rural infrastructures, and any other rural development activities;
(l) to define, encourage and support any activity calculated to enhance food production, road development, rural water, supply the provision of other infrastructures to rural areas, and any other rural development activities;
(m) to encourage the implementation of physical development plans at the community level in order to increase the rural productivity and improve rural accessibility;
(n) to prescribe the criteria and determine the level of corresponding financial grant which will adequately stimulate the expansion of food production and processing, rural water supply, road construction and maintenance of rural roads and the provision of other rural infrastructures;
(o) to establish an efficient, expeditious and accurate system of financial disbursement to rural communities;
(p) to supervise and monitor on a continuous or regular basis the entire range of rural development activities, carried out or supported by the Directorate pursuant to this Act;
(q) to develop a system of statistical and non-statistical reporting relative to local communities in order to measure the achievements of the Directorate in the areas of food production, rural water supply, road construction and repair, rural infrastructural development and other rural development activities; and
(r)
to do all such other things as will enable the Directorate more effectively to perform its functions under this Act.