The mandate of the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute is to conduct agricultural research, particularly as it relates to food and fibre crop farming, in northern Ghana for the purpose of introducing improved technologies to enhance agricultural productivity. 

• Develop in close collaboration with typical farm households in the various agro- ecological zones, options of production techniques which are compatible with farm households and which enhance the capacity of farm families to increase crop production per unit area without injury to the environment. 
• Introduce improved varieties of crops which address the production problems of farmers and meet their consumption patterns and preferences as well as market demands. 
• Generate data and information which enhance policy makers’ understanding of the decision making patterns of farmers and thereby permit formulation of appropriate agricultural policies. 
• Build up the capacity for, and institutionalize, farming systems research (FSR) as a research approach.