Interest free: Govt to give loans to 500,000 farmers

LAHORE: Around 500,000 farmers will benefit from Punjab government’s interest-free loans scheme of worth Rs100 billion in the next two years, said Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday. He was addressing the launching ceremony of the interest-free loan scheme for farmers at the CM Office. Shehbaz said the provincial government was taking solid measures for the socio-economic uplift of farmers and has revolutionised the agriculture sector. The chief minister said that small scale farmers and tenants would benefit from the scheme. He said Rs60 billion had been spent for repair and construction of roads in rural areas. “The implementation of ‘Khadim-e- Punjab Saaf Pani’ project has been started in the southern Punjab on a priority basis and Rs30 billion are being spent for this purpose,” he said.  The loans would be given to farmers through electronic transactions. Farmers would be given smart phones and also updated agricultural research information through a phone application.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2016.