The Kassena Nankana Municipal was upgraded by LI 2106 from the Kassena Nankana District which was established in 1988 by LI 1855. It is one of the thirteen (13) districts/municipalities in the Upper East Region of the Republic of Ghana. The municipality has Navrongo as its political and administrative capital. The municipality lies approximately between latitude 11°10' and 10°3' North and longitude 10°1' West. The municipality shares boundaries to the north with Kassena-Nankana-West District and Burkina Faso. To the east, it shares boundary with Kassena-Nankana West District and Bolgatanga Municipal, to the west with Builsa District and to the south with the West Mamprusi District in the Northern Region.

Climatic Conditions

The climatic conditions of the Kassena Nankana Municipality is characterized by the dry and wet seasons, which are influenced mainly by two (2) air masses – the North-East Trade winds and the South-Westerly’s (Tropical Maritime). The harmattan air mass (North-East Trade Winds) is usually dry and dusty as it originates from the Sahara Desert. During such periods, rainfall is virtually absent due to low relative humidity, which rarely exceeds 20 percent and low vapour pressure less than 10mb. Day temperatures are high recording 42° Celsius (especially between February and March) and night temperatures could be as low as 18° Celsius. The Municipality experiences the tropical maritime air mass between May and October. The average annual rainfall is 950mm.

Relief and drainage

The Municipality is generally low-lying. The landscape is generally undulating with isolated hills rising up to about 300 metres above sea level in the western parts of the municipality. Notably among these hills include Fie (280 metres), Busono (350 metres) and Zambao (360 metres) above sea level. The drainage system of the municipality is constituted mainly around the tributaries of the Sissili River – Asibelika, Afumbeli, Bukpegi and Beeyi. A tributary of the Asibelika River (Tono River) has been dammed to provide irrigation facilities.

Vegetation

The Kassena-Nankana Municipality lies within the Guinea Savannah woodlands. The Municipality is covered mainly by the Sahel and Sudan-Savannah types of vegetation comprising mainly of the savannah grassland with short trees and thumps. Common trees found are Dawadawa, Baobab, Sheanut and Mango.

Soil

Two main types of soil are present in the municipality namely the Savannah ochrosols and groundwater laterite. The northern and eastern parts of the municipality are covered by the Savannah ochrosols, while the rest has groundwater laterite.

The Savannah ochrosols are porous, well drained, loamy, and mildly acidic and interspersed with patches of black or dark-grey clayey soils. The groundwater laterites are developed mainly over shale and granite and cover approximately sixty percent of the municipality’s land area. This soil type is suitable for the cultivation of many crops, especially rice and vegetables and hence accounts for the arable land sites including most parts of the Tono Irrigation Project