Ensure easy loans for marginalised small farmers

The marginalised small farmers in the country are the worst hit of the ongoing economic crisis as they have become unable to sell their products with a proper value and have to witness the rot and destruction of crops in the fields due to a decline in demand. A newspaper on Saturday reported that soaring cultivation and living costs had burdened them with high-interest loans due to years of low prices and disastrous weather events. As a result, they fell into further indebtedness by taking high-interest loans to cope with the crisis ever in the economy.
Though the central bank asked the commercial banks to give loans to small farmers at low cost, the scheme appears to be missing the target due to bureaucratic bottlenecks. The report said farmers have also failed to receive delivery of inputs for new plantations as they are failing to pay for it. This is because most small farmers have failed to get the due prices for their produce and incurred financial losses. This in turn is creating a critical situation in which they are failing to repay loans to banks and other lenders. Moreover, they are failing to buy new inputs for the next crops with the money they are receiving on the sale of vegetables at low prices.
Most banks provide loans to large-scale farmers as they have assets to offer collateral or for long business relations. But banks do not provide loans to small farmers and most of them do not even understand the nature of the need for credit for small-scale farmers either, according to experts. Considering the situation, the central bank also asked banks to provide loans to small farmers under the sharecropper loan scheme. But it is feared that the objective of the loan scheme is remaining largely unfulfilled due to volatile political interest.
Over the years, agro production amply increased though farmers remained deprived of good returns. Agriculture contributes nearly 20 per cent to the GDP, and 70 percent of our people depend on agriculture to earn a livelihood. The government also receives the highest amount of revenue from the sector. Therefore, we urge the banks to disburse loans to marginalised small farmers. Bangladesh Bank should also expand monitoring so that no farmer will suffer from short of credit.