Tareen :
Despite priority being set by the government, there has been reduction in loan sanctioning by the scheduled banks in the country’s agricultural sector, revealed a recent survey of the Bangladesh Bank. It was alleged that as the interest rate of agricultural loan is less than other sectors, the banks are showing less interest in sanctioning loan in this sector.However, the bankers said that from December every year the demand for loan in agricultural sector increases. They hoped that by next March the situation would change and they could reach their target. The distribution of loan in this sector till November this year is about 4 per cent less than the previous fiscal. In this situation, the interest rate in the agricultural sector has been reduced by 2 per cent to be fixed at 11 per cent. It will be effective from January next year.Khondokar Ibrahim Khaled, who was a former Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank and also Chairperson of Agricultural Bank for a long time, said that though there are some defaulters in the agricultural sector, their number is somehow less. He said that the reason behind less distribution of loan in the agricultural sector may be only seasonal. The main demand starts during the Aman season while the Irri-Boro season the demand is a little less. But, he hoped that the loan distribution would reach the target by the end of the current fiscal. “As the banks want more profit, they are showing less interest in loan distribution,” he opined. According to the latest report of central bank, all scheduled banks have distributed a loan of Tk 288 crore in five months up to November this year in the agricultural sector. The distribution of loan during the period last year was Tk 5,501crore, that is, Tk 213 crore lees. The situation has deteriorated mainly due to the Government banks’ distribution of loans going down the scale. The Government owned banks — Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali, Bangladesh Agriculture and Rajshahi Agriculture Development Banks — had set a target of distributing Tk 9,140 crore as loan in five months. Of them, only Tk 2,292 crore was actually distributed. M. Mahfuzur Rahman, Executive Director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, told newsmen that the banks had been asked to give loans on priority basis in the agricultural sector. This time, 2 per cent interest rate has been reduced against the sanctioned loans in the sector. Again under the refinance support programme, the banks have been asked to distribute agricultural loan at a maximum 9 per cent linterest. Even if some one distributes loans via the NGOs, the interest rate will also be a maximum of 9 per cent, he said. The BB executive director expressed hope that by the end of December, the prevailing situation will improve. As the interest rate is going down now, he hoped, the farmers would be interested in taking more loans.
