Tk 30bn to Power Agri-Tech

BRAC Bank has joined Bangladesh Bank’s Tk 30 billion revolving refinancing scheme to strengthen technology-driven agriculture and supply chains in northern Bangladesh. The financing will support agricultural machinery, modern storage, cold-chain facilities, processing and transport infrastructure, covering the supply chain from production to exports.

BRAC Bank announced the development in a press release on Saturday, September 12. An agreement was signed at Bangladesh Bank headquarters on Wednesday, September 9.

The scheme will finance agricultural production, modern supply chains, employment generation and income-generating activities across districts in the Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions. Farmers will be able to access financing at an interest rate of up to 7%.

The scheme divides the agricultural supply chain into four key stages: production and storage; transportation, marketing and infrastructure development; agricultural product manufacturing and processing; and exports.

Financing will cover crop production, fisheries, livestock, agricultural machinery, cold-chain facilities, warehousing, food and dairy processing, and seed production.

Investment in agricultural machinery, cold-chain infrastructure and modern warehousing can strengthen storage and transportation capacity while reducing post-harvest losses. It can also create greater opportunities for technology adoption in agricultural processing and exports.

Deputy Governor Dr. Md. Kabir Ahmed, Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan, and Director of the Sustainable Finance Department Chowdhury Liaquat Ali attended the agreement-signing ceremony on behalf of Bangladesh Bank.

BRAC Bank was represented by Kazi Dilruba Akhter, Head of SME Business Support, and Liton Kumar Biswas, Senior Relationship Manager, MFI and Agriculture Finance.

The technology- and infrastructure-focused financing is expected to strengthen farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs and related businesses across Rajshahi and Rangpur in production, storage, processing and marketing. The initiative could further accelerate technology-driven economic activity around agriculture in northern Bangladesh.
//DBTech/BPR/FOEB//