ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh on Thursday approved a waiver of agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000, including accrued interest, for an estimated 1.2 million farmers nationwide, the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported.
According to BSS, the decision was taken at a cabinet meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, following his directive to provide relief to small and marginal farmers.
Under the measure, both the principal amount and the full accrued interest on such loans will be written off.
Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani, briefing reporters after the meeting, said the waiver covers loans taken in the grain, crop, fisheries, and livestock sectors and fulfills a pledge made in the government's election manifesto.
"The main objective of this initiative is to ensure social security for poor and marginal farmers and strengthen the backbone of the country's agricultural sector," Ghani said.
He added that funds previously allocated for loan repayments could now be used to purchase quality seeds or adopt modern irrigation technologies, enabling farmers to begin the next cultivation season with renewed confidence.
The Cabinet Secretary said that the waiver could ease rural inflationary pressures and help curb rural-to-urban migration in the near term, BSS reported.
It is also expected to improve beneficiary farmers' credit records, enhancing their ability to access fresh agricultural loans from banks at lower interest rates and reducing their dependence on high-interest informal moneylenders.
According to Bangladesh Bank data cited by BSS, farmers owed approximately Tk 15,500 million in outstanding loans and interest to public, specialized, and private commercial banks as of Feb 25.
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