Miss Clara Nyarkoah Anim, Project Coordinator of the Ghana Cooperative Credit Unions Association (CUA) has disclosed that a credit facility totaling GH?1,594,398.00, has been disbursed to 9,000 farmers and petty traders to expand their economic livelihoods.

She said the beneficiaries were part of the Food Security through Cooperatives in Northern Ghana (FOSTERING) project, intended to enhance food security, nutritional status and economic empowerment of the beneficiaries.

Ms Anim who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Friday at Salaga on the sidelines of a two-day summit on Gender Model Family project said the credit facility had boosted small business activities of men and women in eight districts.

The summit was organized by SEND-Ghana as part of the Gender Model Family project that the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) was promoting as a component of the FOSTERING project.

FOSTERING project is being funded by Global Affairs of Canada and the Canadian Co-operative Association and implemented by SEND-Ghana and the Ghana Credit Union Association (CUA) with the aim of improving agricultural productivity and livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

Ms Anim said CUA has been collaborating with SEND-Ghana over the past 10 years to establish credit unions in the Eastern corridor of the Northern Region to bring financial services to the poor adding, “We help them to mobilise their resources together for economic advantage”.

She indicated that through such collaborations, 12 community credit unions had been formed and were performing well with over 100,000 members who comprised individuals and groups.

Ms Anim noted that the minimum amount given to each farmer was GH?450.00 stressing that some farmers and petty traders were able to take more than the minimum amount, which increased their production.

Mr Siapha Kamara, Chief Executive Officer of SEND-Ghana, said the project had also registered additional advantage where couples had been equipped with knowledge and skills to live together equitably and ensured that their children - boys and girls had the same opportunities to develop their potentials.

He urged men and other family members to share family roles without showing bias towards one particular gender explaining that the burden on women is reduced when roles are evenly distributed to enable them contribute meaningfully to societal and community affairs for positive development.