WORLD BANK ASSISTANCE AND EROSION MANAGEMENT IN NASARAWA STATE, 2016-2020

Gully erosion is a serious environmental problem that has created irretrievable changes in most parts of Nasarawa state, resulting in loss of resources worth hundreds of millions of naira every year. Despite several measures at addressing this environmental catastrophe erosion is still a problem that has seemed to defy all possible solutions. This study assessed World Bank Assistance and Erosion Management in Nasarawa State from 2016-2020. The study utilized survey method with both primary and secondary sources of data used for this study. As ample of selected gully sites were carried out in five Local Government Areas representing the study area for this research work. The study finds dependency theory as most suitable tool for the analysis as it helps in understanding World Bank-supported erosion project in Nasarawa State as an agent of globalization with purely imperialist ideology, which operations cannot value free, and hence the fruits of globalization with capitalist strategies to deceive Nigeria into the trap of exploitation and domination. Findings from the study reveals that gully erosion as observed by this study has lowered the concentration of most of the physical and chemical properties of the soil in the state thus, exposing the sub soil devoid of fertility to support gainful agricultural productivity. Due to erosion, the texture of the soils at the gully sites had lost most of colloidal portion leaving a soil that were mostly sandy in nature. However, World Bank-supported erosion project in Nasarawa State has partly achieve its objectives as most NEWMAP project received relative attention across the five local governments with corruption identified as one of the major challenges militating against the World Bank-supported erosion project in Nasarawa state. The study therefore recommends among others that addressing the challenges bedeviling erosion management in Nasarawa state, there is need to create a bottom-to-top management policy that concentrates power and authority in the hands of local government areas. Also, farmers in the areas should adopt improve agricultural methods, such as minimal tillage and agro-forestry methods to reduce possible acceleration of erosion in the study areas.