Africa-Press – Ghana. The MIHOSO International, a non-government organisation with support from STAR Ghana Foundation has set up a credit union to provide financial assistance to local farmers, mostly women in the Kintampo South District of the Bono East Region.
Besides, the MIHOSO Cooperative Credit Union Limited, an affiliate to MIHOSI Intenational, will further support the 300 farmers groups, spread across the district with modern farm inputs, organic fertilizers and agro-chemicals to expand their economic activities.
Established in 2003, the MIHOSO, among other objectives, works to promote the general wellbeing of the vulnerable, especially those in rural communities, committing to providing public health services, social accountability, community and organizational development interventions.
According Dr Gabriel Gbiel Benarkuu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the MIHOSO International, the establishment of the credit union was a “is a major intervention to liberate the farmers from poverty.”
Dr Benarkuu expressed appreciation to STAR Ghana for the support.
In an interviewon the side-lines of the inauguration of the Union at Jema, the district capital, he said the Union would also provide financial literacy and business plan training and alternative livelihood activities to the farmers too.
For the last 11 years, Dr Benarkuu said the MIHOSO had worked directly with the farmers through various project interventions, underscoring the need to inspire the farmers to adopt the habit of savings.
He explained that though farming remained a lucrative enterprise, there was the need to also support the farmers financially and logistically.
He enlightened them on modern methods of farmers to enable them to cope with climate change.
Dr Benarkuu said the establishment of the credit union would be extended to other communities and districts, to spur local economic development and better the socio-economic livelihoods of the rural farmers.
“We also want to encourage the farmers to opt for and apply organic fertilizers and we have arranged with an international partner that will soon train them on the preparation and application of economic fertilizers”, he stated.
Dr Isaac Adaebsah, the CEO of the GRATIS Foundation commended the NGO, saying the credit union would augment the government’s towards alleviating the plight of especially women farmers, and petty traders.
He advised the farmers to cut their expenditure on frivolous activities and adopt the culture of savings, saying that remained the surest way to making them financially reliant and thereby better their socio-economic livelihoods accordingly.
Dr Adaebsah urged other farmers in the area to leverage that opportunity, formed and join cooperatives in order to access credit facilities and to engage in commercial farming that would sustain their livelihoods.
Earlier, Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the Deputy CEO of MIHOSO in-charge of Operations, said with the credit union in place, the local farmers could easily access financial assistance and farm inputs, urging them to strengthen their groups.
For More News And Analysis About Ghana Follow Africa-Press
