Financing of Bangladesh's agriculture and rural sector is accelerating. According to Bangladesh Bank, banks disbursed Tk 42,834.16 crore of farm credit in fiscal 2025-26, 14.76 per cent more than the previous year and the first time annual lending has passed Tk 42,000 crore. The figures come from the central bank research department's Monthly Report on Agriculture and Rural Finance.

The year's target was Tk 39,000 crore, itself 2.63 per cent above the previous year's, and by year-end banks had lent more than the target. In June 2026 alone scheduled banks disbursed Tk 4,757.55 crore, 29.47 per cent more than in May.

Recovery improved too: Tk 6,014.38 crore was recovered in June and Tk 45,626.93 crore over the year, up 19.99 per cent. Outstanding farm credit stood at Tk 63,574.38 crore at the end of June, while overdue loans fell 8.43 per cent to Tk 19,807.33 crore.

By sector, crop production took the largest share of lending at 47.32 per cent, followed by livestock and poultry at 26.38 per cent and fisheries at 13.33 per cent.

Microfinance institutions remain a major force in the rural economy. The top ten NGOs including Grameen Bank disbursed Tk 19,863.38 crore of microcredit in June, 40.98 per cent more than a year earlier, to about 38 million members through 14,539 branches; their June recovery of Tk 19,617.35 crore was up 24.66 per cent. Observers have urged closer monitoring to bring overdue loans down further.

Based on reporting by Samprotik Deshkal's economic correspondent. Source: Samprotik Deshkal