Avoid Burkina Faso until safety measures are strengthened — Dumelo to traders

The Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, has advised tomato traders to temporarily suspend trips to Burkina Faso following the killing of several Ghanaians in a recent terrorist attack.

This comes after a number of Ghanaian traders were killed in Titao, northern Burkina Faso, on Saturday, February 14, while travelling to purchase tomatoes.

The victims were reportedly ambushed by armed insurgents when transporting goods across the border.

Efforts are underway to evacuate surviving victims and provide support to affected families.

The Ministry of Interior has stated that it is engaging security agencies to review existing protection arrangements for cross-border traders.

Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews on Tuesday, Dumelo said traders should avoid travelling until stronger security guarantees are in place.

“I would advise them[tomato traders] not to go because we can’t guarantee safety. But of course, once we put those security measures in place, yes, then I would advise all of them to go,” he stated.

He explained that discussions are ongoing with the Interior Ministry to reassess and strengthen current security protocols.

“In the next couple of days, we will definitely announce some of the measures that we’ve taken to protect these traders who go to Burkina Faso and other countries that are a little bit unstable,” Dumelo added.

The deputy minister also outlined plans to scale up local tomato production through irrigation expansion and support for farmer cooperatives.

He expressed optimism that increased domestic output would reduce reliance on imports from Burkina Faso and improve food security in the long term.