Minister Opens E-credit Scheme For Farmers In Punjab

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2016 ) : Punjab Minister for Agriculture Dr Farrukh Javed opened interest-free e-credit scheme for farmers here on Monday. Addressing a gathering of farmers here, the minister said the scheme had been launched from South Punjab to benefit around 500,000 farmers and peasants, each of whom would get Rs 25,000 per acre loan for Rabi season and Rs 40,000 per acre for Kharif season.

This interest-free credit facility would enhance farmers' per acre income by Rs 2500-4200, Dr Farrukh Javed said. The minister heaped praise on Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his people-friendly initiatives and added that leaders in other countries identifed the Punjab chief minister as the Man of Action.

Dr Farrukh said after taking revolutionary initiatives to upgrade civic infrastructure in rural areas, CM Shehbaz Sharif established a whopping Rs 100 billion fund for farmers' wellbeing and development of the agriculture sector.

He said farmers would get loans through Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Tameer Bank, National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), and Akhuwwat. The minister said registration of farmers at all the 143 Tehsil Land Record centres was in the final stages of completion with the help of Punjab Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS).

He said farmers would get short message (SMS) on their smartphones to enable them get loan from any mobile cash shop. He said a sum of Rs 10.32 million subsidy was being extended to farmers to enable them purchase Urea, DAP, Ammonium Nitrate, Nitrophos and NP at reduced price and the same was benefitting 5.2 million farmers.

He said a Rs 3 billion research project was in progress to develop high yielding cotton varieties. He said over 200,000 tube-well owners were benefitting from reduction in tube-well tariff from Rs 8.85 to 5.35 and it would reduce cost of irrigation on 2.5 million acre agriculture area by 40 per cent.

The minister disclosed that the agriculture friendly initiative of the chief minister would extend direct benefit of Rs 163 billion per year to farmers of Punjab. MNA Malik Abdul Ghaffar Dogar, Parliamentary Secretary on Agriculture Rana Ijaz Ahmad Noon, MPA Malik Muhammad Ali Khokhar, MPA Mehdi Abbas Langah, President ZTBL Syed Talat Hussain Bukhari, zonal chief Zahid Iqbal and agriculture officials attended the ceremony.