PKSF to disburse Tk 500 million among 60000 farmers
Thursday, 30 October 2008
FE Report
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) will disburse initially around Tk 500 million through its Partner Organisations (POs) among almost 60000 small and marginal farmers mainly in the agrarian regions of the country.
The disbursement will be made under the newly initiated 'Agriculture-Sector Microcredit' programme of PKSF.
Launched in September this year, the project, targeted at micro financing the small and marginal farmers, will gradually be expanded across the country.
It was revealed at a workshop organised at the PKSF auditorium Wednesday, attended by the Chief Executives of the 61 related POs and their chief loan officers.
Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed, Managing Director of PKSF delivered the welcome speech of the programme. General Manager Operation Golam Touhid and Deputy Managing Director Mosharraf Hossain Khan also spoke on the occasion.
"Under the current world circumstances, self-sufficiency in food, especially in rice and wheat became acute as the international market for rice remained costly," Mesbahuddin Ahmed said in his speech.
"Realizing the field level demand as well as basing on the experience of the successful 'Micro Finance for Marginal and Small Farmers (MSMSF)' and the 'Seasonal Loan Programme' scheme, we found greater opportunity to come up with such a separate micro credit programme for agriculture sector," he later told the journalists.
Under the initiative, a member farmer who is a part of this programme can take two loans amounting no more than Tk 50,000.00 from a Partner Organization at a monthly service charge rate of maximum 2 percent.
The loan along with the service charge must be repaid within 12 months of its disbursement and can be repaid in several installments.
The loan disbursed by the PKSF to its Partner Organizations on the other hand must be repaid within 14 months with an annual service charge rate of 4.5 percent to 7 percent.
Loan can be disbursed under this program for the cultivation of crops as well as for dairy, poultry or agriculture-based forestry initiatives and at the same time for the purchasing of agricultural or farming equipments, for specialized farming activities or for the processing of agricultural by-products.
Outlining the contribution of the marginal and small farmers to the national agriculture and economy, the meeting informed that according to an agricultural survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in 2005, more than 88 percent of the total farming population of the country can be categorized as either marginal (0.05 acre to 0.49 acre) or small (0.5 acre to 2.49 acres) farmers.
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) will disburse initially around Tk 500 million through its Partner Organisations (POs) among almost 60000 small and marginal farmers mainly in the agrarian regions of the country.
The disbursement will be made under the newly initiated 'Agriculture-Sector Microcredit' programme of PKSF.
Launched in September this year, the project, targeted at micro financing the small and marginal farmers, will gradually be expanded across the country.
It was revealed at a workshop organised at the PKSF auditorium Wednesday, attended by the Chief Executives of the 61 related POs and their chief loan officers.
Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed, Managing Director of PKSF delivered the welcome speech of the programme. General Manager Operation Golam Touhid and Deputy Managing Director Mosharraf Hossain Khan also spoke on the occasion.
"Under the current world circumstances, self-sufficiency in food, especially in rice and wheat became acute as the international market for rice remained costly," Mesbahuddin Ahmed said in his speech.
"Realizing the field level demand as well as basing on the experience of the successful 'Micro Finance for Marginal and Small Farmers (MSMSF)' and the 'Seasonal Loan Programme' scheme, we found greater opportunity to come up with such a separate micro credit programme for agriculture sector," he later told the journalists.
Under the initiative, a member farmer who is a part of this programme can take two loans amounting no more than Tk 50,000.00 from a Partner Organization at a monthly service charge rate of maximum 2 percent.
The loan along with the service charge must be repaid within 12 months of its disbursement and can be repaid in several installments.
The loan disbursed by the PKSF to its Partner Organizations on the other hand must be repaid within 14 months with an annual service charge rate of 4.5 percent to 7 percent.
Loan can be disbursed under this program for the cultivation of crops as well as for dairy, poultry or agriculture-based forestry initiatives and at the same time for the purchasing of agricultural or farming equipments, for specialized farming activities or for the processing of agricultural by-products.
Outlining the contribution of the marginal and small farmers to the national agriculture and economy, the meeting informed that according to an agricultural survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in 2005, more than 88 percent of the total farming population of the country can be categorized as either marginal (0.05 acre to 0.49 acre) or small (0.5 acre to 2.49 acres) farmers.