Livestock farmers to get free loans, says minister

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperatives Fazal Hakeem Khan Yousafzai has announced that interest-free loans will be provided to livestock farmers and cattle herders.

“This initiative is aimed at supporting small-scale farmers, encouraging investment in the livestock sector, and improving productivity,” said the minister while presiding over a review meeting of the current projects and future plans of the Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperatives Department.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperatives Department Fakhr Alam Khan, Director General Livestock Extension Dr. Asal Khan, Director General Livestock Research Dr Ijaz Ali, Director Livestock Merged Districts, Dr Abdul Waheed Wazir, Registrar Cooperatives Muhammad Ishaq and other officials.

During the meeting, Dr. Asal Khan provided updates on various projects and initiatives within the Livestock Extension. He informed the participants that discussions are ongoing with banks to facilitate the provision of interest-free loans to cattle herders. The government will bear the cost of the project, and the principal loan amount will be repayable in easy installments.

The meeting about steps taken toward digitalizing the livestock sector. He highlighted the introduction of an animal identification and tracking system, which will improve livestock management and monitoring across the province.