Loan disbursement deadline of Tk 5,000 crore agri-refinance fund extended

Bangladesh Bank (BB) today extended the time for the disbursement of loans under a Tk 5,000 crore refinance scheme to support farmers to get loans to grow crops and ensure food security for the country.

There is demand for this scheme. So, the deadline for disbursing loans under the scheme has been extended to December 31 this year, the central bank said in a circular.

The BB formed the refinance fund for banks in November 2022 to provide low-cost loans to farmers against the backdrop of rising food prices in the global market at that time impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war.

Under the scheme, the banking regulator offered loans to producers at 4 percent interest—much lower than the current interest rate on loans—through banks to grow rice, vegetables, fruits and flowers, fish and do poultry and dairy farming.

The central bank later included cattle fattening into the fund.

In its latest circular, the BB included tuber crop cultivation and goat and lamb farming in the scheme, meaning that cultivators of tuber crops such as potato and goat and lamb farmers will be eligible for loans under the low-cost fund.