Move to speed up disbursement of BB\'s fund for cattle rearing

The government has taken a move to accelerate disbursement of loan under Bangladesh Bank's re-financing fund for cattle-rearing in a bid to boost milk and meat production, officials said.
 The move came following slow pace of loan disbursement by commercial banks and financial institutions (FIs), they added.
 The government allocated Tk 2.0 billion for disbursement as loans with five per cent interest to the farmers for rearing cattle in the current fiscal year. Banks and FIs are to distribute the loans among dairy farmers.
The BB formed the fund in June last year to encourage dairy farming and cut malnutrition and milk powder import bill.
Commercial banks and FIs launched the low-cost on January 13, 2016.
So far, around Tk 900 million loans have been distributed among farmers, according to the department of livestock services (DLS).    
Earlier, the ministry of fisheries and livestock asked the BB to look into the matter.  
The BB authorities last week directed commercial banks and FIs to distribute remaining amount of loans to the farmers during the current fiscal year, according to the DLS.  
"We are informed about the Bangladesh Bank's decision. We hope the commercial banks and the financial institutions will disburse the rest of the undistributed loans to the farmers for cattle rearing," director general of DLS Dr Md Ainul Huq told the FE.  
 He said the agriculture loan department of the BB has given directive to commercial banks and FIs to complete loan disbursement by June 30.
  The BB has also asked them to submit monthly reports to the DLS about the progress of loan disbursement.  
 The central bank had also issued directives to banks and FIs on June 2, 2015 and on August 18, 2016 for quick disbursement of the loans among the farmers. But the directives bore no fruit.  
 The country spends around Tk 40 billion for importing powder milk to meet its growing demand annually, according to BB.
The refinancing facility will allow at least 10,000 farmers to get cheap loans.
Under the scheme, farmers will get loans between Tk 50,000 and Tk 0.2 million. They will have to repay within four and a half years.
Farmers can borrow Tk 50,000 for one heifer capable of reproducing within a maximum of three months, and take a maximum of Tk 0.2 million for four heifers (indigenous species) for milk production.
Bangladesh produced 6.97 billion litres of milk in the fiscal year 2014-15, up 14.3 per cent year on year.
     talhabinhabib@yahoo.com