Waiver of agricultural loans up to 10,000 takas (including interest)

Year

2026

Reform Domain

Manifesto Watch

Source of Reform Proposals

Election Manifesto of Bangladesh Nationalist Party - BNP

Reform Proposed

Reform Initiated

Legal and Policy Framework

Operationalisation

Action Implementation

Stage of Implementation

Reform Proposed

Last Update: 02-May-26

The Farmer Loan Waiver pledge was articulated in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) election manifesto for Bangladesh’s 13th national election. In its election manifesto for Bangladesh’s 13th National Election, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) states that "The cost of farm inputs, including fertiliser, seeds, fuel, electricity, irrigation water, and more are rising, but hardworking farmers are not getting fair prices for their produce. As welfare-oriented government, we will waive agricultural loans of up to 10,000 takas for all farmers, including interest. Many farmers, crushed by inflation, are struggling to pay for instalments on various microloans in this difficult time. The BNP government will pay, on farmers behalf, one year's instalments of microloans taken from MRA registered NGOs. This will reduce their burden and make life more manageable, allowing them to meet other needs, including nutritious food. It is worth noting that during Begum Khaleda Zia's tenure, interest and principal on agricultural loans up to 5,000 takas were waived an initiative that eased farmers' hardship and effectively helped increase agricultural production."

Reform Initiated

Last Update: 02-May-26

On 26 February 2026, according to news reports, the newly elected government in its first cabinet meeting took the decision to waive agricultural loans up to Tk 10,000 (including interest), designating the Ministry of Finance as the lead for implementation.

Legal and Policy Framework

Last Update: 02-May-26

According to news reports, following the cabinet decision on 26 February 2026, the government introduced a programme to waive agricultural loans up to Tk 10,000, including interest, for farmers engaged in grain, crop, fisheries, and livestock sectors. After a Finance Division meeting on 2 March 2026, the estimated coverage was revised from about 12 lakh farmers to 13,17,498 farmers across 15 banks, with an estimated fiscal cost of around Tk 1,568 crore. Under the reported financial framework, the Finance Division will allocate and transfer the required amount to the Financial Institutions Division, which will subsequently channel funds to the participating banks. The waiver amount includes approximately Tk 917 crore in principal and Tk 782 crore in interest, while around Tk 138 crore kept in interest suspense/uncertain accounts has been excluded from government responsibility. Before reimbursement is made to banks, the loan waiver data will be subject to audit by Bangladesh Bank. Banks will calculate eligible dues up to 25 February 2026, no new interest can be charged from 26 February 2026, and government reimbursement will be made in phases based on the audited amounts.

Operationalisation

Last Update: 02-May-26

According to news reports, following the programme design, the implementation process has begun with the allocation and transfer of funds from the Finance Division to the Financial Institutions Division for onward disbursement to participating banks. As reported in an article published on 14 April 2026, the budgetary allocation for the loan waiver has been processed for transfer, covering approximately Tk 1,568 crore for 13,17,498 farmers across 15 banks. At present, Bangladesh Bank is in the process of verifying and auditing bank-submitted data, after which phased reimbursement to banks is expected to proceed.

Observation

At present, implementation remains at a procedural stage, with fund allocation and verification processes underway. However, no consolidated or officially published data is available on final beneficiary coverage or bank-wise allocation, and reported figures vary across sources. It remains unclear whether farmers have actually received the intended debt relief, as the waiver is being implemented through bank reimbursements that are still pending verification by Bangladesh Bank.

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