‘Budget relief for 0.45m farmers’

MULTAN: “As many as 450,000 farmers are projected to benefit from Rs13 billion funding earmarked for the agriculture sector in the provincial budget,” said a spokesman of the Agriculture Department on Friday.

Talking to APP, spokesman Naveed Asmat Kahloon said the government would provide interest-free loans and smart phones to farmers to help them raise production.



Kahloon said loans would be provided to the farmers through e-cards that would enable them to draw the amount through ATMs.

“Under the scheme, Rs80 billion will be disbursed among the farmers who would get loans at the rate of Rs25,000 per acre for the rabi and Rs40,000 per acre for the kharif season. The Rs13 billion mark-up on the loans will be paid by the government,” he said.

“For the first time, landless peasants would be able to avail the benefits under the scheme,” Kahlon said.



He said smart phones would be provided to the farmers to provide them easy access to weather forecasts and advisory services of the Agriculture Department.

“We hope to improve their capacity to cope with unexpected weather conditions,” he said.

“It has been estimated that the scheme would raise farmers’ income from Rs2,500 to Rs4,200 per acre.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2016.