Farm Loan
NGOs request BB to slash interest rate
Three non-government organisations on Sunday urged the Bangladesh Bank to reduce the farm loan interest rate to single digit.
They also proposed the BB to increase the amount for farm loans.
Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust, Credit and Development Forum and International Network of Alternative Financial Institution made the call at a joint press briefing held at the National Press Club in the city.
‘We urge the government to reduce the farm loan interest rate to single digit, which will help ensure food safety in the country,’ CDF executive director Abdul Awal said at the press briefing.
‘We have come to know that different banks have around Tk 72,660 crore sitting idle. If the banks allocate the fund to microfinance organisations
and NGOs the farmers will get the fund in a simpler way than the banks,’ he said.
He claimed that due to their strong connectivity at the grassroots microfinance organisations have better ability to disburse farm loan than any other organisation.
COAST executive director Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said that government should put emphasis on agriculture as ensuring food safety would be a major challenge in the coming days.
INAFI executive director Atiqun Nabi and COAST assistant director Tarik Sayed Harun were also present on the occasion.
-With New Age input
