Waive taxes for farmers, Sindh tells Centre

The Sindh government asked the Centre on Monday to waive agricultural taxes and loan payments for farmers, while vowing to ensure relief and rehabilitation measures for the same. Meanwhile, all provincial agricultural taxes for crops affected by the recent devastating rains would be waived, claimed Sindh Agriculture Minister Ismail Rahoo.

Rahoo demanded that Prime Minister Imran Khan to waive agricultural loans and taxes for farmers in districts affected by the recent rain spells in Sindh. The provincial government has declared 20 such districts as 'calamity affected areas,' he said, adding that rice and sugarcane crops, among others, and orchards as well had been severely impacted.

Agricultural loans given by commercial banks and the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited should be foregone for 2020, he maintained. Moreover, new interest-free loans should be provided to farmers on easy terms, he implored.

"Due to the incorrect policies of the Centre, the agricultural sector is already under severe pressure," he claimed. "The skyrocketing prices of fertilisers, pesticides, diesel, electricity and gas have made agriculture impossible, and the country's farmers are taking on debts [as a result]."

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2020.