Dhaka: The scheduled banks of Bangladesh have successfully disbursed Tk 42,834.16 crore in agricultural and rural credit for the fiscal year 2025-26, surpassing the central bank’s annual target of Tk 39,000 crore by 9.83 percent.

According to United News of Bangladesh, the “Monthly Report on Agricultural and Non-Farm Rural Credit Position” prepared by the Agricultural Credit Department-1 of Bangladesh Bank highlighted that disbursement through 58 participating banks saw a notable increase of 14.76 percent from the Tk 37,326.52 crore disbursed in the previous fiscal year 2024-25. When including the Tk 1,334.22 crore disbursed by the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB), the total agricultural credit flow for FY26 amounted to Tk 44,168.38 crore, marking a rise of 13.97 percent from the previous year.

The report detailed target achievement by various bank categories. Specialised banks, such as Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, and Probashi Kallyan Bank, led with the highest target achievement at 123.40 percent, disbursing Tk 12,615.57 crore against a target of Tk 10,223 crore. State-owned commercial banks achieved 109.89 percent of their target, while foreign commercial banks and private commercial banks reached 104.05 percent and 108.05 percent of their respective targets. Islamic banks, however, fell short, achieving only 94.37 percent of their target.

The Agricultural and Rural Credit Policy and Programme for FY26 required banks to allocate specific percentages of credit to different sectors, yet the actual disbursement showed some deviations from these allocations. Recovery of agricultural loans grew faster than disbursement, rising 19.99 percent from the previous year, while overdue and classified loans saw a decline, contributing to a slightly improved financial landscape for the sector.

The report noted the significant contribution of the agriculture sector to Bangladesh’s GDP and employment, while also highlighting challenges such as climate change and shrinking arable land. The central bank emphasized the need for vigilant recovery and default management to maintain healthy agricultural financing in the future.