Staff Correspondent
Agricultural credit disbursement recorded a robust growth of 27.22 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal as the central bank took some measures including relaxation of rules and regulations of loan payment.
Eight state-owned banks and financial institutions along with the private commercial banks (PCBs) disbursed Tk 33.77 billion as farm credit during the period from July to November of the fiscal 2008-09 as against Tk 26.55 billion of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics.
During the period, eight state-owned banks and financial institutions disbursed Tk 26.38 billion compared to Tk 18.69 billion of the same period of the previous fiscal while the PCBs lent Tk 7.39 billion to farmers as against Tk 7.86 billion of the previous fiscal.
The state-run banks and financial institutions are Sonali Bank Limited, Janata Bank Limited, Agrani Bank Limited, Rupali Bank Limited, Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB), Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB), Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) and Bangladesh Samobaya Bank Limited (BSBL).
The loans have been given to agro-based eight sub-sectors like crops, irrigation equipment, livestock, agricultural products marketing and fisheries.
The banks and financial institutions have achieved 36.02 per cent of the disbursement target of the current fiscal, which has been fixed at nearly Tk 94 billion, 13 per cent up from the last fiscal, the BB’s data showed.
“We are hopeful of achieving the agricultural credit disbursement target by the end of this fiscal,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said.
He said the central bank wants to ensure credit facilities for each interested farmer across the country without any harassment.
“The district coordination committee on agricultural credit monitoring and supervision has already been strengthened with the aim of facilitating the agriculture sector across the country,” the BB official added.
The official also said the central bank has made agricultural credit disbursement mandatory for all local and foreign commercial banks from this fiscal to help ensure food security of Bangladesh.
On October 21 last, the central bank of Bangladesh relaxed its credit policy with a view to facilitating the disbursement of agricultural loans to sharecroppers and landless farmers, officials said.
Under the new policies, sharecroppers, who are directly engaged in farming, will be entitled to receive agriculture loan.
Courtesy: thebangladeshtoday.com
