Ghana’s National Security Strategy: Accumulating Mud While Citizens Face Peril

Introduction: A Valentine’s Day Tragedy and a Strategy in Mud

On February 14, 2026, a date synonymous with love, a brutal attack near Titao in northern Burkina Faso shattered families and exposed a critical vulnerability in Ghana’s national fabric. Several Ghanaian tomato traders, engaged in a vital cross-border commerce, lost their lives. This incident is not an isolated tragedy but a stark symptom of a deeper, systemic failure. Professor Kwesi Aning, a respected security advisor and academic at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, has issued a searing critique: Ghana’s National Security Strategy (NSS) is, in his words, “accumulating mud” while its citizens die. His argument pierces the heart of a national dilemma: a state security apparatus seemingly detached from the existential threats to its people’s livelihoods and daily safety, particularly in the realm of food security and regional instability.

This article provides a comprehensive, SEO-optimized examination of Professor Aning’s urgent warnings. We will dissect the gap between Ghana’s strategic documents and on-the-ground realities, explore the intricate link between agricultural dependency and national security in a volatile Sahel region, and propose a pathway toward a coherent, actionable strategy. The core question is no longer if Ghana’s security strategy needs an overhaul, but how it can be rescued from irrelevance before more lives are lost and the nation’s food sovereignty is permanently compromised.

Key Points: The Core Arguments

Professor Aning’s critique, based on years of observation and policy analysis, centers on several interconnected failures:

• Strategy Without Implementation: Ghana’s National Security Strategy, designed six years prior, identified multi-tiered threats but remains largely unimplemented, especially regarding long-term risks to food production and citizen livelihoods.
• Food Security as National Security: Heavy dependence on food imports and cross-border trade from unstable regions (like Burkina Faso) is a direct and severe national security risk, exacerbated by the ongoing Sahel insecurity crisis.
• Demographic Pressure: A booming population of approximately 33 million is not matched by a corresponding increase in domestic food production, creating a future crisis of supply.
• Agricultural Neglect: Local farmers face crippling challenges, including labor shortages, poor access to extension services, and a societal disregard for farming as a profession.
• Symbolism Over Substance: Government responses are criticized as mere symbolic gestures (e.g., annual Farmers’ Day awards) instead of sustained, practical support for the smallholder farmers who form the backbone of food production.
• Urgent Re-evaluation Needed: The attack on traders must serve as a catalyst for a holistic review of both security protocols and agricultural policies, demanding “bold and daring” action.

Background: The Crossroads of Trade, Terror, and Tomatoes

The Vital yet Perilous Tomato Trade

The trade in tomatoes and other horticultural produce between Ghana and Burkina Faso is a classic example of regional economic interdependence. For decades, Ghanaian traders, often small-scale entrepreneurs, have traveled to northern Burkina Faso, particularly during the lean season, to purchase tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables. This trade fills a critical gap in Ghana’s domestic production, supplying major markets in Accra, Kumasi, and beyond. However, this route has become increasingly dangerous. The northern regions of Burkina Faso have been a hotbed of jihadist activity linked to groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, spilling over from the Mali conflict. These groups target transportation routes, markets, and individuals, viewing cross-border commerce as both a source of revenue (through taxation or robbery) and a symbol of state authority they seek to undermine.

Ghana’s Food Import Dependency

Ghana’s agricultural sector, while significant, struggles to meet year-round domestic demand for key staples and vegetables. The country relies heavily on imports for rice, wheat, and, pertinently, tomatoes, especially in the dry season. This import dependency creates a strategic vulnerability. Disruptions in supply chains due to conflict, climate events, or price fluctuations in global markets directly impact food inflation, household budgets, and national economic stability. The situation is compounded by post-harvest losses and infrastructural deficits within Ghana itself.

The Unheeded National Security Strategy

The Ghanaian government, like many nations, developed a comprehensive National Security Strategy to outline threats and coordinate a whole-of-government response. According to Professor Aning, this document, conceived around 2020, correctly identified a spectrum of threats, including those to economic security and critical infrastructure. However, its implementation has been lackluster. It remains a document on paper—”accumulating mud”—while the dynamic, non-kinetic threats of food scarcity and regional spillover violence escalate. The strategy’s failure to effectively translate into actionable policies for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the security services, and trade agencies is the central failing.

Analysis: The Confluence of Failures

The Food-Security/National-Security Nexus

Traditional national security discourse often prioritizes military threats, territorial integrity, and state-centric espionage. Professor Aning compellingly argues for a broader, more modern conception: human security. When citizens cannot access affordable food due to supply chain disruptions caused by terrorism, their basic security is violated. This, in turn, can lead to social unrest, economic hardship, and a loss of public trust in the state—all of which are profound security threats. The attack on tomato traders is a direct attack on Ghana’s economic lifeline and the livelihoods of its citizens. A security strategy that does not robustly address the safety of trade corridors, the resilience of food systems, and the viability of small-scale cross-border commerce is fundamentally incomplete.

Structural Weaknesses in Ghanaian Agriculture

The dependency on Burkina Faso is not solely a consequence of regional conflict; it is also a symptom of deep-seated domestic agricultural challenges that the NSS has failed to address:

• Labor Crisis: As Professor Aning notes, securing reliable farm labor is increasingly difficult. Rural-urban migration, coupled with a perception of farming as low-status, has depleted the agricultural workforce. The reliance on foreign labor from neighboring countries introduces its own set of socio-economic complexities.
• Extension Service Collapse: The vital link between research, technology, and the farmer—the agricultural extension officer—is severely under-resourced. Without expert advice on crop disease, soil management, and modern techniques, smallholder productivity stagnates.
• Investment Gap: There is a chronic lack of investment in irrigation, mechanization, storage facilities, and rural roads. This forces farmers into rain-fed, subsistence agriculture, highly vulnerable to climate variability and unable to scale to meet urban demand consistently.

The “Symbolic Gesture” Trap

The critique of Farmers’ Day celebrations as mere “noise” is a powerful metaphor for policy that values spectacle over substance. Awarding a “best farmer” with a house once a year does nothing to address the daily struggles of thousands of farmers lacking access to credit, fighting pest infestations, or struggling with poor road access to markets. This approach creates a superficial narrative of government support while systemic, unglamorous problems fester. A genuine national security approach would channel resources into building resilient, decentralized food production systems that reduce exposure to external shocks.

Practical Advice: From Mud to Firm Ground

Bold and daring steps, as Professor Aning advocates, require moving beyond diagnosis to prescriptive, multi-sectoral action.

For Policymakers and Government

• Activate and Integrate the NSS: Formally task the National Security Council with a mandatory, time-bound review of the NSS’s food and economic security components. This must involve the Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Trade, Interior, and Foreign Affairs in a joint task force with clear deliverables.
• Develop a “Safe Trade Corridors” Initiative: In collaboration with Burkina Faso and ECOWAS, establish protected routes for essential agricultural commerce. This could involve coordinated patrols, community-based early warning systems, and insurance schemes for traders, funded jointly and supported by regional security frameworks.
• Launch an Emergency Agricultural Revitalization Plan: A 5-year plan focused on:
  • Mechanization and Irrigation: Subsidized access to tractors and community-based water harvesting projects.
  • Extension Service Overhaul: Massive recruitment and digital training of extension officers, utilizing mobile apps for real-time advisory services.
  • Youth in Agri-Business: Create attractive packages (land leases, startup grants, tech training) to make farming profitable and prestigious for the youth.
• Diversify Import Sources and Boost Local Production: While building local capacity, strategically diversify import sources for tomatoes (e.g., from other West African nations with more stable regions) to avoid over-reliance on any single corridor.

For Farmers and Trader Associations

• Form Stronger Cooperatives: Pool resources to invest in collective storage, transportation, and market bargaining power. Cooperatives can also engage more effectively with government on policy.
• Adopt Safer Trading Protocols: Develop shared security protocols for cross-border trips, including travel in convoys, satellite phone usage, and check-in systems with family.
• Lobby as a Unified bloc: Move beyond fragmented voices to present a cohesive, data-driven case to policymakers about the economic value of their trade and the security threats they face.

FAQ: Addressing Common Questions

Is Ghana’s National Security Strategy a classified document?

While the full detailed strategy is likely classified for operational security, its broad pillars and public statements by officials indicate a comprehensive approach. The issue is not its existence but its implementation gap, particularly in non-military domains like economic and food security.

Can Ghana realistically reduce its dependence on tomato imports from Burkina Faso?

Yes, but it is a medium-to-long-term goal requiring significant investment. Ghana has suitable agro-ecological zones for tomato production. The challenge is overcoming production seasonality, post-harvest losses, and high costs. With improved irrigation, greenhouse technology, and pest management, domestic off-season production can be dramatically increased, reducing the need for risky cross-border sourcing.

How does the insecurity in the Sahel directly threaten Ghana?

The Sahel crisis (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) is not a distant conflict. It drives:

• Spillover Violence: Armed groups expand into border areas, directly threatening communities and trade routes.
• Refugee Flows: Instability displaces populations, creating humanitarian pressures on Ghana’s borders.
• Smuggling and Crime: Ungoverned spaces become hubs for weapons, drug, and human trafficking, increasing criminality within Ghana.
• Economic Disruption: As seen with the tomato trade, it disrupts vital supply chains and inflates food prices.

What is the role of ECOWAS in this?

ECOWAS has a mandate for regional peace and security (through its Standby Force) and economic integration. It must prioritize the security of transnational economic corridors as a core part of its security mandate. Ghana should diplomatically push for ECOWAS to fund and operationalize joint border security initiatives that specifically protect legitimate trade.

Conclusion: The Choice Between Relevance and Ruin

The attack on Ghanaian tomato traders is a clarion call that cannot be ignored. Professor Kwesi Aning’s metaphor of the National Security Strategy accumulating mud is devastatingly accurate. A strategy that does not protect its citizens in their daily economic pursuits—a core component of their human security—is a failed document. The convergence of a booming population, climate-stressed agriculture, and extremist violence in the Sahel creates a perfect storm. Ghana stands at a