Small scale irrigation farming has been recognized as an important avenue for improving the well being of poor people living in arid and marginal areas of the world. The contribution of small scale irrigation can be seen in its ability to ensure food security as well as contribute to the income of farmers. In the Garu-Tempane District, small scale irrigation farming is a major source of livelihood for people in the district. Despite the importance of the irrigation schemes to dry season farming the schemes face challenges such as inadequate water, inadequate canals, choked and broken canals due to frequent breakdown and inadequate repairs which affect their effective operation. Although the major use of the dam waters was dry season farming, animal watering and fishing were also found to be significant uses of the dam waters.In north-eastern Ghana as it is in many parts of the third world, external development agencies support the formation of Water User Associations (WUAs) for the management of community-based irrigation schemes. Although, the management of the schemes and the use of the dam is the responsibility of the community represented by the WUAs it was revealed by the study that, in the management of challenges that confront small scale irrigation schemes, WUAs depended on the supportive roles of traditional authorities as well as district assemblies for discharging their management responsibilities more effectively.

The study examines the contribution of the District Assembly and Chieftaincy Institution in promoting rural development. The

Mainstreaming women through gender specific policies is an acknowledged precondition for achieving meaningful development in any developing country such as Ghana. Regrettably, it is only recently that issues of women participation have been recognized as such in the context of policy reforms in both administrative and local government arenas in Ghana. Even with that, recent local government reforms in Ghana have not given opportunity for the creation of quota for women in grassroots democratic institutions. In the context of governance, women’s concerns had surfaced intermittently and have merely been highlighted in political party manifestoes and agenda. Most areas of Ghana are rural and lack essential services. And considering their role in rural community development, the state of women’s participation in the governance process is crucial and deserves special attention if development is to be delivered in a more sustainable and efficient manner. To do this effectively, the obstacles to women participation must be unveiled and eliminated to overcome some of the challenges in rural development delivery. The study established that there are serious challenges in gender balancing both in terms of formal and traditional governance policy and reform agenda in Ghana. Consequently, female representation in both formal and traditional governance systems has been very minimal. Some suggestions have been recommended as the way forward in overcoming the obstacles to women participation in governance processes.

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