Research Institution
The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI Official Website) is one of the 13 research institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR Official Website).
Who We Are
CSIR-SARI is located 16 km West of Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana. The mandate of the CSIR-SARI is “to provide farmers in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions with appropriate technologies to increase their food and fiber crop production based on a sustainable production system which maintains and/or increases soil fertility”. This is guided by the vision “to become a lead research and development (R&D) Institution by making agricultural research responsive to farmer needs and national development” and the mission to conduct agricultural research in Northern Ghana to develop and introduce improved technologies that will enhance overall farm level productivity for improved livelihoods”.
CSIR-SARI has 38 research scientists (PhD=25, MSc/MPhil=13) with specializations in Agronomy, plant breeding, soil science and microbiology, agricultural economics, food science, postharvest technology, entomology, pathology, seed science and technology, agrometeorology and crop physiology. There are also laboratory staff and other technical staff who support scientific work. The scientific research staff have ground experience in the field as well as in designing and implementing international research collaborative projects. The institute has a strong socioeconomics and agribusiness section that has carried out several activities aimed at improving the livelihoods of farmers in the mandate area.
Our Own Experience
Joseph Adjebeng-Danquah
I am a Plant Breeder and Senior researcher who works on root and tuber crops at the CSIR-SARI. He holds PhD in Plant Breeding from the University of Ghana, Legon. I have been involved in international and local collaborative projects with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Farmers, and other end-users. Some of these include the Root and Tuber Improvement Programme (RTIMP) and Promoting a Value Chain Approach for Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture in Ghana (ProVACCA). I have over 12 years of research experience and have also taught part-time courses at the university at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as technology dissemination. My research interest includes developing crop varieties for adaptation to dry ecologies and participatory plant breeding involving farmers and other end-users. I have authored and co-authored 22 refereed scientific publications and conference papers. I am involved in WP2 and WP3 and will coordinate the CSIR-SARI team in the EWA-BELT Project
Roger Kanton
I am a Chief Research Scientist and Immediate past Deputy Director of the CSIR-SARI, Nyankpala. I hold a Ph.D. (Agronomy) degree from the University of Reading, Reading, UK, (1999-2003) and an MSc. (Agronomy) from Kharkiv Agricultural University, Rogan, Ukraine (1987-1991). I have been the coordinator for the Research and Extension Linkage Committee (RELC) for the Upper East of Ghana from 1994 to date. I Have contributed to the strengthening of partners’ capacity in natural resource and crop-livestock management strategies in northern Ghana. I also provide guidance and direction for technical staff of the CSIR-SARI and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs). I have coordinated several projects including the Savannah Zones Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP) and the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme II (WAAP2A) (which resulted in the release of five varieties each of pearl millet and Frafra potato). I have authored and co-authored 30 journal papers and will serve as an agronomist in the EWA-BELT project.
Issah Sugri
I am a Senior research scientist with a PhD in Postharvest Technology from the KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. I also hold an MPhil in Crop Science from the University of Ghana, Legon. I have 11 years of research experience in the fields of postharvest handling, packaging, safe storage of cereals and legumes, shelf-life extension in roots and tubers, and managing aflatoxin contamination in stored cereals and legumes. I have also been involved in the training of farmers and other actors in the value chains of cereals and legumes particularly in the area of storage. I will serve as the postharvest specialist on the EWA-BELT project in the Ghana team and will be involved in WP3.
Richard Yaw Agyare
I am a Plant Breeder and a research scientist responsible for the improvement of vegetables at the CSIR-SARI. I hold an MSc in Agronomy (Plant Breeding option) from the KNUST, Kumasi. I have also undergone short courses in molecular technology at the University of California Riverside and other training programs in vegetable agronomy and breeding in Israel and India. My research interest includes participatory varietal selection, molecular breeding, and assessment of physiological responses of vegetables to dry ecologies. On the EWA-BELT project, I will be involved in WP2 and WP3.
Doris Puozaa
I am a research scientist with a PhD in Agriculture (Legume sciences) from the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa. I also obtained an MPhil in Crop Science (Genetics and Plant Breeding) from the University of Ghana, Legon. I served as the Seed Production Specialist for the West Africa Seed Programme, West Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD), Dakar, Senegal. I am currently working as a seed scientist at the CSIR-SARI. On the EWA-BELT project, will be involved in WP2.
Ramson Adombilla
I am a research scientist and hold an MSc in Soil and Water Engineering from the KNUST, Kumasi. I have also undergone short training programs in irrigation agronomy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, the University of Sidney, and AU-SAFGRAD’s –AFTAAC, Egypt. My research interests include developing low-cost irrigation technologies for small-holder farmers, determining crop water use efficiency, and crop water requirements for soybean, cowpea, and cotton. On the EWA-BELT project, I will be involved in WP2, particularly in developing appropriate soil and water management strategies for traditional crops.
Prince Maxwell Etwire
I am a socio-economist and research scientist with a PhD in Economics from the University of Otago, New Zealand. I have been involved in several projects carried out by the CSIR-SARI, particularly in the ex-ante and post-impact analysis of projects. My research interests include production and resource economics, monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment. I will play a key role in the socio-economic aspect of the project EWA-BELT project particularly WP3 Task 3.4.
Theophilus Kwabla Tengey
I am a research Scientist and cowpea breeder with a Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Science with a specialization in Crop Science from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA. I have been involved in cowpea research at CSIR-SARI and directly partner with the IITA, Ibadan in evaluating several cowpea genotypes for farmers the in the Guinea and Sudan Savanna agroecological zones of Ghana. In the EWA-BELT project, I will be involved in WP2 and WP3.