‘Rs1.22tr loans disbursed under PM’s Kissan Package’

ISLAMABAD: The federal government disbursed Rs1.22 trillion in agriculture loans during the first nine months of the fiscal year 2022-23, out of the total agriculture credit target of Rs 1.819 trillion for the current fiscal year.

Recognising the importance of the agriculture sector, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took several measures to support and promote farmers and the agriculture sector in the country.

These measures include financial assistance, infrastructure development, subsidy on electricity, and provision of agricultural machinery and inputs such as seeds and fertilisers.

To address the needs of flood-affected farmers in the country, PM Shehbaz Sharif announced a historic relief package worth Rs 1.8 trillion in October 2022, to benefit the poor farmers, especially those who sustained damages and loss to cultivated land of cotton and sugarcane during the devastating floods last year.

The Rs1.8 trillion special Kissan Package was formally announced by PM Shehbaz Sharif on October 31, 2022 aimed at promoting the agriculture sector and providing farmers, particularly in flood-hit areas, free seeds, inexpensive loans and bringing down prices of fertilisers and electricity for tube-wells.

Announcing the agriculture package, the prime minister said the economic progress of Pakistan was dependent on the agriculture sector and Rs1,800 billion spending on agriculture would be an increase of Rs400 billion as compared to the last year. Under the package, the government allocated interest-free loans of Rs10.6 billion for small farmers across the country, while another Rs8 billion would be given to small farmers in the flood-affected areas.

Likewise, for the first time in history, the Prime Minister Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme was also introduced under the package to engage youth in the agriculture sector to get maximum dividends for the young population, besides providing them employment opportunities in this sector. The agriculture loan is an important component of Prime Minister’s Kissan Package to revive Pakistan’s agriculture sector, particularly restoring the agriculture of areas affected by catastrophic floods during monsoon season. The Kissan package also included interest-free loans of Rs50 billion for the unemployed youth in the agriculture sector of rural areas across the country.

Under the package, the prices of DAP fertilizer were reduced by Rs2,500 per bag, resulting in a benefit of Rs58 billion to farmers.

Also, 1.2 million bags of certified seeds worth Rs13.20 billion are being distributed among the farmers while the landless farmers in the flood-affected areas would be given Rs5 billion besides provision of loans of Rs10 billion to small and medium enterprises working in the agriculture sector for modernisation schemes.

The second-hand five-year-old tractors are being imported with a relaxation of 50 per cent in duties and the government would also encourage the entry of new tractor manufacturers by decreasing duty on completely knocked-down kits from 35 per cent to 15pc.

A subsidy of Rs30 billion for provision of urea fertiliser to farmers at a lower cost is also included in the package under which half a million tonnes of urea is being imported.

Similarly, under the PM Kissan Package, the government also set a target of providing interest-free loans for solarisation of 300,000 tube-wells across the country.