Chapter 2. RESOURCES AND MASTERPLAN FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF AGRICULTURE IN THE SADA ZONE VOLUME II . INVENTORY OF RESOURCES

Tropical Rain Belt. The rainfall seasons of Ghana are controlled by the movement of the tropical rain belt, which oscillates between the Northern and southern tropics over the course of a year. The dominant wind direction in regions south of the ITCZ is south-westerly, blowing moist air from the Atlantic onto the continent, but north of the ITCZ (the SADA Zone) the prevailing winds come from the north east, bringing hot and dusty air from the Sahara desert (known as the ‘Harmattan’). As the ITCZ migrates between its north and south positions over the course of the year, the regions between these those northern and southernmost positions of the ITCZ experience a shift between the two opposing prevailing wind directions. This pattern is referred to as the West African Monsoon.