E-credit limit for farmers increased

MULTAN: The Punjab government has doubled the e-credit limits for farmers from 25 to 50 acres. Markup free loans have been issued to 345,000 small farmers in the first phase of the scheme across Punjab, officials disclosed to this scribe on Thursday.

The Punjab government has allocated Rs40,000 per acre to growers up to 25 acres landholding while the farmers of up to 50 acres land size would be facilitated under the concessional loan facility without markup for Kharif crop season.

The farmers can get loans from the branches of National Rural Support Programme, Telenor Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and Agriculture Development Bank. The e-credit is playing a key role in the prosperity of farmers besides increasing the agriculture growth rate to 3.81 percent. The scheme is launched in a transparent way and farmers can register at Tehsil Land Record Registration Centres (LRC) along with their CNICs.

The LRC would issue a token to the farmer on completion of registration process. The bank officials would directly contact the concerned farmer, registered with the Land Record Registration Centres. The farmers can contact the agriculture helpline in case of any complaint. The information on e-credit is disseminated through the farmers’ smartphones.