Banks asked to lend money to dairy farms with bio-gas plant

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/business/4547.html
Banks asked to lend money to dairy farms with bio-gas plant
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Pabna
Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman on Sunday urged the commercial banks to increase their credit flow for agriculture sector particularly for setting up commercial dairy farms with bio-gas plants in rural areas.
A coordinated dairy farm is not only environment-friendly, but also meets three basic demands of farmers- protein, fuel and fertiliser, he said.
The governor was addressing a function at Titli tala of Jagannathpur upazila while visiting an Agrani Bank financed bio-gas and hybrid baokul and guava cultivation project.
Bangladesh has enormous capacity of establishing around 40 lakh coordinated dairy farms with four cattle in each, he said referring to a recent survey.
He said the dairy farms can yearly produce 480 crore cubic metre bio-gas, 120 million tonnes of high quality organic fertiliser, 1,700 crore litre milk and one million tonnes of meat apart from creating job for around 1.2 crore skilled and non-skilled rural people.
‘So, it’s huge opportunity for commercial banks to pursue green business on integrated dairy farm and bio-gas plant,’ Atiur said adding that Bangladesh Bank has been trying to make the integrated dairy farm model popular among the people.
The governor said a small dairy farm with four cows and one bio-digester everyday can produce 17 litre milk, 100kg organic fertiliser and 100 cubic biogas.
Director (news) of Channel-I Shykh Siraj, managing director of Agrani Bank Syed Abdul Hamid, government officials and local elites spoke, among others, on the occasion.
Referring to the Bangladesh Bank’s Tk 200 crore re-financing scheme for solar power generation and waste management, the governor urged people to take the opportunity.
The governor lauded the Agrani Bank’s financing project for the bio-gas plant and hybrid baokul and guava cultivation in Pabna and said many commercial banks already invested their money for solar power generation.
He urged the commercial banks to invest more in such projects and said it’s very encouraging to see that the commercial banks are providing the farmers with credit for fruit cultivation.
‘Such initiative will help farmers for cultivating high value crops, making the country more green and contributing to country’s economy,’ said the governor.
The governor urged the commercial banks to give emphasis on ‘area approach’ and provide loan for cultivation of a crop that grows more in a particular area.

Tk 128cr project to develop ecosystems in Sundarbans

http://www.theindependentbd.com/business/finance/29116-tk-128cr-project-to-develop-ecosystems-in-sundarbans.html
Tk 128cr project to develop ecosystems in Sundarbans
unb
DHAKA, JAN 14:  The government has taken an initiative to develop the ecosystems as well as production capacity of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, by increasing its resilience against natural calamities. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved a Tk 128 crore project titled ‘Sundarbans Environmental and Livelihoods Security (SEALS)’ to achieve the objective. Of the total project cost, Tk 33 crore will come from the government exchequer, Tk 4 crore as NGO contribution while Tk 91 crore as project assistance in the form of grants from the European Commission (EC).
The objectives of the project also include creating alternative employment opportunities for the people living in and around the Sundarbans, said State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr Hasan Mahmud.
Talking to UNB correspondent Golam Moin Uddin over phone, he said that the project has been undertaken at a time when the Sundarbans is in the race for its inclusion in the world’s new seven wonders.
Hasan Mahmud said that the cyclone Sidr and Aila destroyed most of the establishments including the Forests Department offices in the Sundarbans. “Under the newly approved project, these will be rebuilt and the habitat will also be developed.”
He said that the project will also aims at creating alternative means of livelihood for the people living adjacent to the Sundarbans so that they will not have to rely only on the products of the mangrove forest. The work on the project will start as soon as possible and completed  by December 2014, he added. The project will be implemented in five districts of two divisions – Khulna and Barisal – cover 17 upazilas. The upazilas are Mongla, Morelganj, Rampal and Sharankhola in Bagerhat district, Ashashuni, Kaliganj and Shymnagar in Satkhira, Batiaghata, Dakop, Koira and Paikgachha in Khulna, Bamna, Barguna sadar and Patharghata in Barguna and Bhandaria, Mathbaria and Nesarabad in Pirojpur.
The State Minister said that during the tenure of the previous Awami League government, another project titled ‘Protection of bio-diversity in the Sundarbans’ was approved at a cost of Tk 399 crore.
“But the work on the project were halted after three years due to irregularities,” he added.
The newly approved SEALS project covers holding seminars and workshops, publicity and documentary films, NGO activities, monitoring and evaluation (foreign), repair and procurement of speed boats and trawlers, pontoon gangway and jetty construction, office building construction, renovation and jetty renovation, pond excavation and rainwater reservoirs.
The total area of the Sundarbans in Bangladesh part is around 6,000 square kilometers. The Sundarbans was declared a reserve forest in 1875 and as a world heritage site in 1997. The sociopolitical importance of the Sundarbans is also immense as  around 600,000 people dependent on it directly or indirectly for their livelihood. Rivers and canals in the Sundarbans, spreading over some 12,000 kilometers area, are also rich in fish resources.