In West Africa, IITA works with multi-disciplinary Results for Development (R4D) partners in selected communities located in Northern Ghana and Southern Mali. More particularly, in Northern Ghana three regions were chosen for the study: the Northern, Upper-East and Upper-West regions. These areas cover both maize-based and rice/vegetables-based systems and therefore allow to address the production constraints characterizing both realities. As IFPRI (2012) highlights, the northern regions of Ghana are characterized by small land holdings and low input / low output farming systems, which adversely impact food security. In particular, they are subject to a seasonal cycle of food insecurity of three to seven months for cereals (i.e., maize, millet and sorghum) and four to seven months for legumes (i.e., groundnuts, cowpeas, and soybeans). These crops in the savannahs are often produced in a continuous monoculture, steadily depleting the soil's natural resources and causing the yields per unit area to fall to very low levels. The poverty profile of Ghana identifies the three northern regions as the poorest and most hunger-stricken areas in the country. Gender inequalities are also apparent in these regions, since women have limited access to resources and therefore limited capacity to generate income on their own.