Farm loan disbursement likely to miss target
Saturday, 24 November 2007
Banks have disbursed about Tk 13.06 billion in farm loans-only 19 per cent of the Tk 81.92 billion target-in the first four months (July-October) of the ongoing fiscal year, raising doubt that the target may remain elusive, reports bdnews24.com.
This means the Bangladesh Bank (BB) directive to all banks to fast-track farm loan after the two bouts of flooding and resulting in crop losses did not work.
According to the latest report by the Bangladesh Bank Agriculture Loan and Special Programmes Division, four nationalised banks, two specialised banks and a government organisation have disbursed the amount.
Reminders and a monitoring cell to oversee farm loan disbursement have not helped improve the situation much, either, says the central bank report.
On the contrary, the banks disbursed Tk 13.18 billion in agriculture loans in the July-October period of the previous fiscal year, fulfilling 21 per cent of the target, when the country suffered no serious flooding and there were no crop losses.
But Salehuddin Ahmed, the central bank governor, said, "Agriculture loan disbursement is showing an increase lately and towards the end of the FY the target will hopefully be fulfilled."
A central bank official, preferring to remain unnamed, told bdnews24.com Thursday that the BB governor would sit in an emergency meeting on November 27 with the nationalised, specialised and private banks to urge them to enhance farm loan disbursement.
Directives on farm loan disbursement among the recent cyclone-affected farmers will also be issued from the meeting, he said.
The BB governor told bdnews24.com Wednesday on the sidelines of the launch of the Ahsania-Malaysia Hajj Investment and Finance Company at Sonargaon Hotel that the agriculture sector suffered huge losses in 2007 due to the two recurring floods and the most recent cyclone that ravaged the south.
He said the central bank was closely monitoring farm loan disbursement.
Ahmed said the banks had been instructed to disburse agri-loans to the cyclone-hit farmers without hassles.
The November 15 cyclone destroyed 0.6-0.7 million tonnes of aman rice, NBR chairman Mohammad Abdul Majid said Wednesday, referring to an initial assessment.
He predicted that the country would run a food deficit of up to 1.3 million tonnes in the coming days.
This means the Bangladesh Bank (BB) directive to all banks to fast-track farm loan after the two bouts of flooding and resulting in crop losses did not work.
According to the latest report by the Bangladesh Bank Agriculture Loan and Special Programmes Division, four nationalised banks, two specialised banks and a government organisation have disbursed the amount.
Reminders and a monitoring cell to oversee farm loan disbursement have not helped improve the situation much, either, says the central bank report.
On the contrary, the banks disbursed Tk 13.18 billion in agriculture loans in the July-October period of the previous fiscal year, fulfilling 21 per cent of the target, when the country suffered no serious flooding and there were no crop losses.
But Salehuddin Ahmed, the central bank governor, said, "Agriculture loan disbursement is showing an increase lately and towards the end of the FY the target will hopefully be fulfilled."
A central bank official, preferring to remain unnamed, told bdnews24.com Thursday that the BB governor would sit in an emergency meeting on November 27 with the nationalised, specialised and private banks to urge them to enhance farm loan disbursement.
Directives on farm loan disbursement among the recent cyclone-affected farmers will also be issued from the meeting, he said.
The BB governor told bdnews24.com Wednesday on the sidelines of the launch of the Ahsania-Malaysia Hajj Investment and Finance Company at Sonargaon Hotel that the agriculture sector suffered huge losses in 2007 due to the two recurring floods and the most recent cyclone that ravaged the south.
He said the central bank was closely monitoring farm loan disbursement.
Ahmed said the banks had been instructed to disburse agri-loans to the cyclone-hit farmers without hassles.
The November 15 cyclone destroyed 0.6-0.7 million tonnes of aman rice, NBR chairman Mohammad Abdul Majid said Wednesday, referring to an initial assessment.
He predicted that the country would run a food deficit of up to 1.3 million tonnes in the coming days.