The Northern region is among the poorest in Ghana. The Southern regions possess a lot of natural resources, and at the same time viable for the production of cash crops. The Northern regions however, have agriculture as their most dependable source of livelihood. The proportion of people working as farmers in the region is 73%, making it the highest in the country. In the light of this, most developmental programs in the region are agriculture based. However, the impact of these programs is not being felt as farmers continue to experience lower harvest and productivity. We however blamed the situation on the absence or inappropriate Needs Assessment. We tried to establish from the farmers the programs they found successful. It was established that, an insignificant number of programs were adjudged successful. Reasons why they considered projects successful or otherwise were also investigated. Combining the results from the data and the practical application of the techniques in the study area, we prioritized these techniques. It was realized that individual group techniques were complements to group techniques in the context of the study area. A case is made for the prioritized techniques as well as further discussion on the highly prioritized ones.

 

Key words: Agricultural programs, needs assessment, need assessment techniques.