Bangladesh central bank raises farm credit target to Tk 283.91b

Bangladesh Bank has fixed its agriculture credit target at Tk 283.91 billion for the 2021-22 fiscal year to combat the adverse effects of the pandemic. The target is 7.98 per cent higher than the Tk 262.92 billion in the previous fiscal year, according to the Agricultural and Rural Credit Policy and Program announced on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com. The disbursement target for state-owned and specialised commercial banks is fixed at Tk 110.45 billion and the target for private and foreign commercial banks is fixed at Tk 173.46 billion. This was done ‘considering the pandemic situation and the increased demand for agricultural and rural credit’, Bangladesh Bank said. The announcement noted that commercial banks had disbursed Tk 255.11 billion of last year’s target, or approximately 97.03 per cent. There were approximately 3,055,166 borrowers, 1,605,947 of whom were women. By the government’s count, 2,245,512 small and marginal farmers received approximately Tk 173.64 billion from ...