Peeling Back the Fear: How Credit Concerns Are Threatening the Future of Banana Farming
Banana Farmers Face Uncertainty with New Loan Repayment Policy
<img style="width:700px;" alt="The fear of going to the bottom of credit in banana cultivation” src=”https://cdn.ajkerpatrica.net/contents/cache/images/400x0x0/uploads/media/2024/09/12/9fcef97f25e854528a79059a632f307a-66e25760c5b6a.jpg”/>
Banana is considered a perennial crop, and farmers receive bank loans throughout the year for its production. However, the central bank has announced a new policy, setting a deadline for paying off loans for growing bananas in just two months, effective from August 29.
The new policy has fixed the loan disbursement period for banana cultivation in the fruit category between February 1 and March 31 (19 Magh to 17 Chaitra). This is a significant change from the previous policy, which allowed borrowing throughout the year. The new policy also specifies a fixed banana harvesting period between September 15 and November 30 (30 Falgun-15 Agrahayan), which was previously a whole year.
Impact on Farmers
Rangpur banana grower Altaf Mia expressed concerns about the new policy, stating that it would be challenging for farmers to pay off a 12-month loan in just two months. He fears that 70% of farmers will be deprived of loans compared to the previous year if the new policies are effective.
Banana Cultivation and Loan Disbursement
According to the Bangladesh Agricultural Extension Department, banana seedlings can be planted at any time of the year except during extreme winters and monsoon. The best time to plant saplings is Ashwin-Kartik, one month after monsoon. Apart from this, seedlings can be planted during the months of Magh and Boishakh.
An official of the Rajshahi Agricultural Development Bank (RAKAB) stated that the record of loan collection for banana cultivation is good, with more than 60% of their total credit paid to grow bananas. However, the debt has increased more than before, and a letter was sent to Bangladesh Bank last week to reconsider the issue of two months during the loan repayment policy.
Banana Production in Bangladesh
According to the latest survey of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 2 lakh 72 thousand 872 acres of land have been cultivated across the country, producing 35 lakh 85 thousand 249 tonnes of bananas, which is the highest in the last six years.