Treasury, Opposition Members Call For Incentives For Agri Sector

Members of treasury and opposition benches, while taking part in the debate on the federal budget, on Thursday called upon the government to give more incentives to farmers for growth in the agriculture sector

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jun, 2020 ):Members of treasury and opposition benches, while taking part in the debate on the federal budget, on Thursday called upon the government to give more incentives to farmers for growth in the agriculture sector.

Participating in the budget debate, Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Syed Naveed Qamar said that agriculture sector should be focused more as it was backbone of the country's economy.

He said that as cotton was a cash crop, it should be given more incentives in the budget.

He asked the government to spend funds on agriculture as it helped to generate more job opportunities for the common people.

PPP leader said that wheat and cotton growers should be given more incentives and support price of cotton should be announced to benefit the farmers.

Naveed Qamar said that the government should ask Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) to issue new credit to farmers as it had stopped issuing new loans.

He appreciated Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser for constituting a committee on agriculture sector.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali said PTI took over charge of the government in a very difficult time. He said that the government had announced tax free budget to facilitate the business community and common people.

He also endorsed the point of view of Naveed Qamar that agriculture sector should be given more incentives as this important sector benefited people within months.

He asked the federal and Balochistan governments to take steps to deal with locust. He asked the provincial government to undertake measures for desilting of canals in Balochistan.

PTI lawmaker urged the government to improve irrigation system in the province as most of the farmers were not getting crops due to shortage of water. He said that a clear policy should be announced for the agriculture sector. He asked the government to announce more funds for the construction of small dams in Balochistan. He stressed that the government should act against electricity theft in the province.

Mohsin Dawar asked the government to enhance salaries of the government employees and appreciated the Sindh government for announcing increase in their salaries.

Referring to the statement of State Minister for Climate Change regarding decrease in forest cover during the previous governments, he asked the government for the formation of a parliamentary committee to ascertain the exact contribution of different governments in this regard.

He asked the government to provide 4G services to areas of FATA merged in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the students of the areas were deprived of online classes.

Mohsin Dawar demanded of the government to allocate more funds for the frontline soldiers playing role against the coronavirus outbreak in the country's hospitals.

He called upon the federal government to open borders for the trade activities as most of the people living along the borders get employment through commerce.

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) MNA Khurram Dastgir Khan said that nothing had been announced for the agriculture, industry and common people in the budget.

He also criticized the government policy for dealing with coronavirus pandemic.

He claimed that growth of manufacturing, agriculture and industrial sectors witnessed negative growth.

He said that government failed to collect tax target and missed all other targets as well. Khurram Dastgir said that no action had been taken on sugar commission report.

He also questioned the government policy on Kashmir after August 5 action by the Indian government.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Sanaullah Khan Masti Khel paid tribute to doctors, paramedical staff and other officials who were performing duties to deal with coronavirus pandemic.

He also appreciated the government polices for dealing with the COVID-19 deadly virus in effective ways.

He said that all the state owned institutions were running in losses during the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) government, adding due to vision of Imran Khan, he joined him after winning election as an independent candidate.

Awami National Party MNA Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said that budget announced by the PTI government was not upto expectation of the common people.

He said that as per the data available, the PTI government had taken more than Rs 10000 billion of loans in its 18 months.

He termed the revenue target set during the current budget unrealistic.

He feared that the government will announce a mini budget.

He suggested to the government to further decrease interest rates, not take loan from commercial banks, decrease tariff of gas and electricity and give incentives to exporters.

MNA Ghulam Mustafa Shah stressed on the government to decrease prices of agricultural inputs so that farmers could increase their productivity.

He said the proposed cut in the budget of Higher Education Commission would lead to closure of universities.

Sardar Jaffer Leghari said farmers should be included in the policy making for the agriculture sector. Prime Minister Imran Khan will fulfill his promise to create a new province of South Punjab, he added.

Mufti Abdul Shakoor said Islam was against the interest based financial system and steps should be taken to abolish this system.

He said three percent of the National Finance Commission Award should be spent on the development of tribal areas as pledged by all the main parties in the Parliament.

Prince Muhammad Nawaz Allai said the government presented budget in difficult economic conditions due to the dual threats of coronavirus and locust attacks.

As was happening in other parts of the world, Pakistan's economy also suffered losses and people got unemployed due to restrictions imposed during lockdowns, he noted.

Chaudhry Ashraf underlined the need to increase export of agricultural products so that Pakistan could pay off its debts by earning precious foreign exchange.

Faheem Khan said the Sindh government failed to work for the welfare of the people of Karachi and did not give food rations during the lockdown to curb coronavirus.

Agha Hassan Baloch asked the government to increase salaries of public sector employees as they were financially struggling because of high inflation.

Shaza Fatima Khawaja said confusion over lockdown policy led to spread of coronavirus, adding 18th constitutional amendment empowered provinces and now the powers should be devolved to the local level.