Central bank raises farm loan disbursement target by 6.86pc
STAFF REPORTER
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has raised the agriculture and rural loan disbursement target by 6.86 per cent to Tk 21,800 crore for the current 2018-19 financial year (FY19).
Deputy Governor of central bank SM Moniruzzaman yesterday disclosed the target while rolling out the agriculture and rural credit policy for 2018-19 fiscal year at the central banks headquarters in the capital.
Considering the demand of agricultural and rural credits, the credit target has been fixed on the basis of state-owned commercial and specialized banks self target and two per cent neat loan and advance of private and foreign commercial banks, he said.
According to Moniruzzaman, 60 per cent of the fixed targeted loan must be distributed in crop sector on a priority basis, minimum 10 per cent in fishery sector and 10 per cent in livestock sector.
Besides, the remaining fund should be distributed to procure agricultural equipments, poverty reduction and other sectors under the credit policy, he added.
The state owned commercial and specialized banks will disburse Tk 9,875 crore while private and foreign commercial banks Tk 11,925 crore as per policy. Besides the target, Bangladesh Rural Development Board will disburse Tk 961 crore and BRAC Tk 600 crore under agriculture and rural credit policy, the deputy governor said.
Of the targeted fixed fund, the private sector commercial banks will disburse 52 per cent, the state-owned commercial banks 30 per cent, specialized banks 15 per cent and foreign banks 3 per cent under the credit policy in rural and agriculture sector, Moniruzzaman added.
He said it will not be difficult to achieve the target, as they disbursed Tk 21,393.55 crore last fiscal, exceeding their annual disbursement target by five per cent.
The disbursement target for the immediate past 2017-18 financial year (FY18) was Tk 20,400 crore.
A total of Tk 21,432.05 crore was disbursed among 70,44000 people in the previous fiscal year under agricultural and rural credit policy, he said.
A total of 39,62,508 people of which the number of women borrowers are 15,76,137 who have received Tk 6,309.58 crore as credit in the last year. Besides, a total of 30,73,153 small and marginal farmers have also received about Tk 15,092 crore from different banks, while Tk 30.47 crore was disbursed among 8,339 farmers of char, haor and less developed area of the country in the last fiscal year too, he added.
BB has published the annual Agricultural and Rural Credit Policy and Programme for FY19 for achieving the prime objectives of sustainable
development goals (SDGs), including poverty reduction, ensure safe and nutritious food and maintain good health for the people of the country, the deputy governor said.
Some new concepts have been included in the current agricultural credit policy to ensure countrys food security and to develop a sustainable agricultural credit system.
These are: minimum 10 percent of agricultural credit disbursement target is required to disburse to the fisheries sector, agricultural credit for floating agriculture system, agricultural credit for the integrated farming system, agricultural credit for rearing turkey birds, agricultural credit for producing fish through pen system, increasing the credit limit per acre for the crop cultivation, if any private commercial bank cannot achieve its target in a financial year, it is required to deposit unachieved portion of the target amount or equivalent to three percent of the unachieved portion of the target, if a bank deposit 3 percent of the unachieved portion of the target and can disburse the unachieved portion fully or partly within next 2 years, the deposited amount will be refunded fully or proportionately; otherwise the deposited amount will not be refundable.
