In Chandpur loan allocation for agricultural production is Tk. 238 crore

In Chandpur loan allocation for agricultural production is Tk. 238 crore.Bangladesh Bank has allocated Tk. 238 crore and 2 lakh 88 thousand to state-owned and private banks in 8 upazila of Chandpur for disbursement of Tk. 106 million in agricultural production and poverty alleviation sector in fiscal year 2020-21.

Compared to the financial year, there is an allocation of 30 crore and 77 lakh more in this financial year. Till last August, 12 crore and 28 lakh taka have been distributed among 99,482 people.

A report from the Sonali Bank Chandpur regional office on Wednesday, September 30, told the matter to the district agriculture committee.

Every financial year, Bangladesh Bank allocates to the scheduled public and private banks in the agriculture and poverty alleviation sectors of the country. There are also guidelines on how to provide loans in all sectors.

This was informed at a coordination meeting of the regional office bearers of all the banks at a joint meeting of the Chandpur District Agriculture Loan Committee on September 28 at the Deputy Commissioner’s Conference Room.

According to the information received, the allocation has been given to 20 privately run banks in Sonali, Agrani, Janata, Krishi, Rupali, Basic, Karmasangsthan. Of these, 7 state-owned or government-run banks and 24 private banks have been instructed to disburse Tk. 238.2 crore in the agricultural production sector.

According to the regional office of the concerned bank, crop loan is Tk. 4 crore and 76 lakh, irrigation sector is 3 lakh, dairy sector is 1 crore and 86 lakh 73 thousand, poultry sector is 1.5 lakh, fisheries is 1 crore 42 lakh, agricultural processing and marketing is 3 crore and 18 Lakh, Tk. 26 lakh and 25 thousand has been allocated for poverty alleviation and Tk. 60 lakh has been allocated for miscellaneous sectors.

Meanwhile, National, Islami, Pubali, Uttara, Al-Arafa, Shahjalal, Fast Security, AB, The City United, BRAC, Mercantile, NCC, Social, Prime, Bank Asia, Padma, Dutch, jamuna will be available in 24 private banks in the district.

The branches of the concerned banks have been allocated Tk. 54 lakh for the cultivation of pulses, oilseeds, spices and maize at 4% interest in the 2019-20 financial year.

A concerned bank official said, “The first condition for a farmer to get a loan is that he must have suitable land for cultivation.”

Farmers will also get loans if they apply with the permission of the land owners. In response to another question, he said that farmer will get a loan of up to Tk. 50,000 for raising fisheries, cattle and poultry.

In this context, the banks will provide loans to farmers on easy terms for agricultural production, purchase of irrigation equipment, purchase of power tillers, cattle fattening, poultry farms, cattle rearing, fisheries, production of vegetables and rabi crops. There are instructions to provide agricultural loans to the sharecroppers after proper evaluation.

In the fiscal year 2020-21, the bank disburses loans in the agricultural production sector at 9% simple interest if the field assistants of the bank offer immediate loans to the farmers who have land and are cultivating it themselves.

Correspondent: Abdul Ghoni, September 30,2020