Subsidies for small farmers soon

LAHORE: The government has set the headline target to provide “smart subsidy” for agricultural inputs to three million small farmers, having up to five acres of landholding, which is to be achieved by 2023, The News learnt on Wednesday.

Officials said in order to transform the lives of subsistence farmers, representing 60 percent plus of the farmers’ base, a sizeable starting subsidy, directed specifically towards the growers, would enable them to improve their farm economics.

Smart subsidies specifically focusing them may help elevated their living standards to an acceptable level, thereby ensuring that the benefit passes on to the segment of society which needs it the most, they added.

They were of the view that any measures at controlling overall prices of fertilisers disproportionately benefit the larger farmers who are few in numbers and enjoy healthy profits.

The government is committed to launch an agriculture policy to increase farmer profitability and one of the initiatives to achieve this objective was to optimise subsidy program along with other initiatives, the officials said.