Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has set a target of disbursing Tk 60,000 crore in agricultural and rural credit in the 2026-27 fiscal year, marking a 53.85 percent increase from the Tk 39,000 crore target fixed for the previous fiscal year.
The central bank announced the Agricultural and Rural Credit Policy and Program for FY2026-27 at a program held at its headquarters in the city yesterday, with a view to increasing agricul-tural production, employment and rural incomes while ensuring adequate credit flow to the sec-tor.
Of the total target, Tk 20,495 crore has been allocated for state-owned commercial and special-ised banks, while Tk 39,505 crore has been set for private and foreign commercial banks.
BB Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman highlighted the key aspects of the new policy at the pro-gram, which was also attended by senior officials of the central bank, including executive direc-tors, deputy executive directors and directors, as well as representatives of scheduled banks.
The policy has incorporated a number of new measures to make agricultural credit more inclu-sive and responsive to the needs of farmers and rural communities.
Under the new policy, local agricultural extension officers, sub-assistant agricultural officers, fisheries officers and livestock officers may provide information from their records or govern-ment-issued farmer cards to help identify genuine farmers.
The policy also directs banks to provide agricultural loans alongside fisheries and livestock loans in crop and crop-related areas and sets limits on the number of members in farmer groups eligi-ble for such credit.
For fisheries and livestock sectors, banks have been instructed to provide loans of up to Tk 5 lakh without collateral.
Banks have also been advised to explore alternative forms of security, including personal, social and group guarantees, particularly to facilitate financing for women and marginal farmers.
The mandatory requirement for maintaining passbooks or similar records for agricultural bor-rowers has been relaxed.
The policy includes provisions for re-financing schemes involving Tk 10,000 crore and Tk 3,000 crore, with corresponding policy provisions incorporated into the policy summary.
In response to climate change, Bangladesh Bank has included provisions to bring insurance facil-ities to agricultural borrowers based on the relationship between banks and farmers/customers and the terms of lending.
The new policy also includes financing provisions for organic fertiliser produced from materials such as neem leaves, ash, mixed grains, rice bran, jute sticks, tree leaves, banana peels and egg-shells, along with provisions for crop production, documentation and loan repayment.
For crops such as chilli, vegetables, banana, papaya, mango, lemon, guava and lychee, the policy provides for determining loan disbursement and crop-cutting periods and fixing repayment pe-riods based on the harvesting period.
