Op-Ed by Fuvi Kloku -January 26, 2026.
There comes a moment in every nation’s life when one must pause, rub the eyes, and ask: Are we still serious? Ghana appears to have reached that moment.
The recent announcement by the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Agyapong, outlining a grand vision for barracks regeneration at Burma Camp should have been a welcome development. Modern housing for soldiers is long overdue. No one disputes that. But buried beneath the concrete and high-rise dreams is a troubling revelation , one that exposes a dangerous drift from the core mission of the Ghana Armed Forces.
Instead of strengthening combat readiness, enhancing weapons capability, or expanding Ghana’s defence manufacturing capacity, the Armed Forces are now being nudged , almost proudly , into bakery operations, block factories, kenkey production, poultry, and crop farming.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The institution constitutionally mandated to defend the territorial integrity of the Republic is now being encouraged to knead dough, mold cement blocks, and harvest maize.
A Military Drifting Into Mission Confusion
The Ghana Armed Forces is not and must never become an extension of the Ministry of Agriculture or the National Board for Small Scale Industries. Its mandate is clear: defend the nation, deter threats, and project strength.
Yet here we are, applauding a policy direction that risks turning soldiers into bakers, farmers, and tour operators. This is not innovation. This is not modernization. This is mission creep of the most alarming kind.
If the Armed Forces must generate income, why not channel that energy into defence manufacturing, a sector that aligns with its core competencies and strengthens national security?
Why are we not hearing about:
- Local production of ammunition to reduce import dependence
- Assembly and maintenance of small arms for domestic use and export
- Development of military-grade drones, surveillance systems, and armored vehicles
- Partnerships with global defence firms to build a West African defence industrial hub
These are ventures that would not only generate revenue but also enhance Ghana’s strategic autonomy.
Instead, we are told that kenkey and poultry farming will help “support logistics challenges.”
How did we get here?
A Fundraising Event for National Defence?
Even more worrying is the idea of a self-help fundraising event to kickstart the regeneration project. Since when did national defence become a charity drive? Should soldiers pass around donation envelopes before they can sleep in dignified accommodation?
A nation that cannot fund its own military infrastructure without bake-sale economics is a nation flirting with insecurity.
The Real Danger: A Hollowed-Out Force
Let us be brutally honest.
A military distracted by side hustles is a military that cannot fight.
Every hour spent supervising poultry is an hour not spent on weapons training.
Every cedi invested in block-making is a cedi not invested in battlefield technology.
Every policy that drags the Armed Forces into civilian economic ventures weakens the spine of national defence.
Ghana does not need a military that competes with roadside food vendors.
Ghana needs a military that can manufacture bullets, defend borders, deter aggressors, and project power across the subregion.
A Call to Rethink This Misguided Path
Modernizing barracks is commendable. But the accompanying policy direction is deeply flawed. The Armed Forces must not be reduced to a multi-purpose cooperative society. The stakes are too high.
If Ghana truly seeks to build a resilient, respected, and self-reliant military, the path is clear:
- Invest in defence technology, not dough mixers
- Build weapons factories, not poultry farms
- Strengthen combat readiness, not commercial tourism units
- Position Ghana as a continental supplier of arms, not a producer of kenkey for internal consumption
The world is becoming more dangerous, not less.
West Africa is becoming more volatile, not calmer.
This is the time to sharpen swords , not baking skills.
Final Word
The Ghana Armed Forces deserves better than this policy detour.
Ghana deserves better.
And history will not be kind to leaders who traded national security for agricultural side ventures.
If the military must generate revenue, let it do so by strengthening its core mission, not abandoning it.
Because when the day of reckoning comes , and it always does , no nation has ever defended its sovereignty with bread, blocks, or poultry.
Sensible write-up. We stand to gain more with this article. Mission is seriously adrift