'Farmers must avail fiscal package'

ISLAMABAD: The Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL) has urged small farmers to avail of the fiscal package announced by the prime minister for bank borrowers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, a statement said on Friday.

Under the prime minister’s package, small farmers who have got loans from ZTBL will pay only Rs2.5 percent markup, while the remaining 10 percent markup will be paid by the federal government, it added.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the allocation of markup subsidy, amounting to Rs6.8 billion to ZTBL so that the borrowers having landholding up to 12.5 acres of land could benefit from the package during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The relief package will benefit over 400,000 across the country, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and ex-Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs).

“This package by [the] prime minister is a huge relief to small agriculture borrowers. In simple words, if a farmer has got a loan of Rs1 million, he will pay just Rs2.5 percent instead of Rs12.5 percent,” said Arshad Hassan Awan, head credit division, ZTBL.

The package is for the current fiscal year, he said, adding that so far, Rs2.5 billion have been availed of by the farmers The defaulted who repay/settle their loans and the borrowers availing of deferment will be eligible for the relief package.

ZTBL has been playing its financer role by providing a branch network for the implementation of the subsidy scheme under the package. The bank has asked its borrowers to avail of the package before June 30 this year.