The Bangladesh Bank on Thursday formed a Tk 1,000-crore refinance scheme for three years for the small, marginal and contract farmers to make low-cost financing easy for the farmers to boost the production of wheat and maize to meet the local consumption demand.

Under the scheme, any farmer can take loans based on the bank-customer relationship and a farmer can get a loan of maximum Tk 2 lakh with 4 per cent interest rate without any collateral, said a BB circular issued on the day.

The central bank will disburse refinance fund among banks at the rate of 0.50 per cent. The loan application deadline is set for June 30, 2025.

Interested commercial banks have to sign a participation agreement with the agricultural credit department of the central bank to disburse the loans from the refinance scheme.

As per the BB’s agricultural and rural credit policy, farmers in the wheat and maize growing areas will get priority to access the refinance scheme.

Based on the crop calendar and sowing and harvesting season, farmers have to repay the loan to the bank while banks have to repay the amount to the central bank within eight months with interest.

To get the refinance fund from the central bank, commercial banks have to submit repayment agreements, actual loan distribution documents along with other required documents.

The commercial banks also have to maintain a separate accounting document relating to the refinance scheme.