Khulna: With hectic efforts by the Department of Fisheries (DoF) in Khulna Division, farmers have paid Taka 234.73 crore loan during the 2025-26 fiscal year. Fisheries loans amounting to Taka 206.34 crore remain unrecovered in the division during the period.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the divisional fisheries office reported that Taka 441.07 crore was disbursed among 3,785 beneficiaries under 891 projects in 10 districts of the division under the small loan program in the last fiscal year. Of the beneficiaries, 2,980 were men and 805 were women. The recovery rate stood at 53 percent, including both old and new loans in the outstanding amount.
The figures show that Bagerhat farmers received the highest amount of loans at Taka 151.11 crore, of which Taka 75.91 crore was recovered. Besides, Khulna farmers received Taka 99.65 crore as a loan and recovered Taka 40.30 crore, Kushtia farmers received Taka 55.37 crore and recovered Taka 29.74 crore, while Jhenaidah farmers received Taka 31.85 crore as a loan and recovered Taka 22.81 crore.
In addition, Narail farmers received Taka 23.94 crore as a loan and recovered Taka 17.07 crore, Chuadanga received Taka 24.12 crore and recovered Taka 20.75 crore, Meherpur received Taka 17.74 crore and recovered Taka 10.85 crore, Satkhira received Taka 14.26 crore and recovered Taka 8.93 crore, Magura received Taka 13.78 crore and recovered Taka 4.67 crore, and Jashore farmers received Taka 9.26 crore as a loan, of which Taka 3.71 crore was recovered respectively.
In Dumuria upazila of Khulna, several fish farmers have recently repaid loans that remained outstanding for 15 to 17 years. Officials said some borrowers had failed to repay loans for years due to losses caused by fish diseases, natural disasters, and fish being washed away from ponds and enclosures.
Talking to BSS, Assistant Director of the Khulna Divisional Fisheries Office Mohammad Manjurul Islam said loan disbursement and recovery were ongoing processes. "Loan recovery in the Khulna region is satisfactory. However, recovering many old loans is quite difficult," he said. Dumuria Senior Fisheries Officer Sohel Mohammad Zillur Rahman Regan said Taka 4.63 lakh in government loans had been recovered in the upazila during the 2025-26 FY.
He mentioned that the department was continuing systematic activities to recover long-overdue loans alongside providing services to fish farmers and fishermen and increasing fish and shrimp production. Fisheries officials stated they were visiting borrowers' homes, issuing notices, identifying borrowers with the assistance of village police, and making repeated appeals through local representatives to recover outstanding loans.
They noted that some borrowers were allegedly threatening officials and spreading misleading information through different channels during the recovery drive. Local fish farmers and fishermen welcomed the initiative, saying continued recovery efforts would help return government money and discourage the practice of taking loans without repayment.