Economic Reporter :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the country’s microcredit receivers have failed to come out of that vicious cycle of credit and stand on their own feet due to profit-mongering attitude of the microcredit lenders.
“Under such circumstances, we’ve initiated the ‘One House One Farm’ project which was initially undertaken as a pilot project,” she said.
The Prime Minister came up with the remarks after formally inaugurating 100 branches of Palli Sanchay Bank (Rural Savings Bank) through a videoconferencing from her official residence Gonobhaban on Wednesday.
Palli Sanchay Bank has been created converting the ‘One House, One Farm Project’ (Ekti Bari Ekti Khamar) taken by Department of Rural Development and Cooperatives in 2009 for five years with a vision to make every rural house into a agricultural farm using country’s rich biodiversity and ecosystem. Measures will be taken later to open branches of this bank in all the upazilas of the country.
Shiekh Hasina said there was a time when she was a very much advocate of microcredit, but with the passage of time she had noticed that those who were receiving microcredit could not take long-term programme as they had to remain busy repaying their loans with interests.
“As a result, those involved in such business turned more profit makers while the poor remained stuck in the poverty cycle selling out their property to repay their loans with interests and some even had to commit suicide,” she told the function.
Palli Sanchay Bank (Rural Savings Bank), a specialized bank, has moved a one step ahead in its journey with the inauguration of 100 branches across the country in a bid encourage the rural people to make more savings and investments and thus help further alleviating poverty.
The Prime Minister said the main objective of the foundation of the bank was to save poor people from the vicious of the so-called ‘microcredit’ which never helped people to come out of poverty trap.
This bank will encourage people in making savings and investment, playing role in alleviating poverty and boosting the rural economy, Hasina said adding it will also create a secured social system for the beneficiaries and for their future generation.
Under ‘One House, One Farm Project, some 2.2 million people, mostly rural poor and underprivileged, were organized under some 40,214 Samities (association) to encourage them in environment friendly dairy and poultry farming, horticulture, exchange of ideas, knowledge and technologies, cooperative marketing and savings of earnings.
At the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Palli Sanchay Bank has been constituted aimed at continuation of the activities of the “One House, One Farm Project” and creating savings mentality among the people of those cooperatives.
The parliament enacted the Palli Sanchay Bank Act, 2014 aimed at facilitating poor and underprivileged section of rural people for savings, processing transaction and maintenance of their money, giving loan and advance as well as creating opportunities for investment.
Reiterating that not a single inch of land should remain outside cultivation considerations the huge population of the country, Sheikh Hasina said the barren land of absentee owners who stay abroad could be associated with the Samities and brought under cultivation.
She said those absentee owners could also get a share of the profit of their produces.
Referring to the establishment of countywide 100 special economic zones, the Prime Minister said agro-processed and food processing industries would be given preferences in those SEZs and a link could be set up where the beneficiaries could sell their produces to the possible industries in those SEZs as raw materials through the Samities.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith and LGRD and Cooperatives minister Engineer Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain also spoke on the occasion.
After the inauguration of the branches the Prime Minister exchanged views with the beneficiaries of the bank’s Tungipara, Faridpur Sadar and Sylhet Sadar branches.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the country’s microcredit receivers have failed to come out of that vicious cycle of credit and stand on their own feet due to profit-mongering attitude of the microcredit lenders.
“Under such circumstances, we’ve initiated the ‘One House One Farm’ project which was initially undertaken as a pilot project,” she said.
The Prime Minister came up with the remarks after formally inaugurating 100 branches of Palli Sanchay Bank (Rural Savings Bank) through a videoconferencing from her official residence Gonobhaban on Wednesday.
Palli Sanchay Bank has been created converting the ‘One House, One Farm Project’ (Ekti Bari Ekti Khamar) taken by Department of Rural Development and Cooperatives in 2009 for five years with a vision to make every rural house into a agricultural farm using country’s rich biodiversity and ecosystem. Measures will be taken later to open branches of this bank in all the upazilas of the country.
Shiekh Hasina said there was a time when she was a very much advocate of microcredit, but with the passage of time she had noticed that those who were receiving microcredit could not take long-term programme as they had to remain busy repaying their loans with interests.
“As a result, those involved in such business turned more profit makers while the poor remained stuck in the poverty cycle selling out their property to repay their loans with interests and some even had to commit suicide,” she told the function.
Palli Sanchay Bank (Rural Savings Bank), a specialized bank, has moved a one step ahead in its journey with the inauguration of 100 branches across the country in a bid encourage the rural people to make more savings and investments and thus help further alleviating poverty.
The Prime Minister said the main objective of the foundation of the bank was to save poor people from the vicious of the so-called ‘microcredit’ which never helped people to come out of poverty trap.
This bank will encourage people in making savings and investment, playing role in alleviating poverty and boosting the rural economy, Hasina said adding it will also create a secured social system for the beneficiaries and for their future generation.
Under ‘One House, One Farm Project, some 2.2 million people, mostly rural poor and underprivileged, were organized under some 40,214 Samities (association) to encourage them in environment friendly dairy and poultry farming, horticulture, exchange of ideas, knowledge and technologies, cooperative marketing and savings of earnings.
At the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Palli Sanchay Bank has been constituted aimed at continuation of the activities of the “One House, One Farm Project” and creating savings mentality among the people of those cooperatives.
The parliament enacted the Palli Sanchay Bank Act, 2014 aimed at facilitating poor and underprivileged section of rural people for savings, processing transaction and maintenance of their money, giving loan and advance as well as creating opportunities for investment.
Reiterating that not a single inch of land should remain outside cultivation considerations the huge population of the country, Sheikh Hasina said the barren land of absentee owners who stay abroad could be associated with the Samities and brought under cultivation.
She said those absentee owners could also get a share of the profit of their produces.
Referring to the establishment of countywide 100 special economic zones, the Prime Minister said agro-processed and food processing industries would be given preferences in those SEZs and a link could be set up where the beneficiaries could sell their produces to the possible industries in those SEZs as raw materials through the Samities.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith and LGRD and Cooperatives minister Engineer Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain also spoke on the occasion.
After the inauguration of the branches the Prime Minister exchanged views with the beneficiaries of the bank’s Tungipara, Faridpur Sadar and Sylhet Sadar branches.
