PM calls for action to support small farmers with loans, modern tools

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the provision of easy loans and modern agricultural facilities for small farmers should be made a priority.

A review meeting on planning and agri-financing for the country’s agricultural development was chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in which the Prime Minister directed that a plan of action be presented regarding the provision of loans on easy terms for medium and small-scale agricultural activities.

He said that the provision of modern agricultural facilities to farmers with less than 12 acres of land should be the top priority. Pakistan’s development is conditional on the value addition of the agricultural sector and farmers’ production.

A plan of action should be presented to provide loans on easy terms to farmers for modern agricultural equipment, artificial intelligence, and quality seeds.

He said that a comprehensive plan should also be made regarding access to small-scale industrial machinery for the processing of farmers’ commodities and the production of export-worthy goods.

The government is accelerating the process of reforms to provide farmers with modern agricultural equipment, quality seeds, artificial intelligence, better use of water, on-farm small industries, and other facilities.

The Prime Minister said that measures to provide facilities and training required by farmers to increase exports from processing agricultural commodities are also being included in the reforms.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Advisor to the Prime Minister Muhammad Ali, Ministers of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Abdul Rehman Kanju, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jamil Ahmed, Chief Coordinator Musharraf Zaidi and relevant senior officials.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the ongoing reforms in the agricultural sector as well as the performance of the Agricultural Development Bank Limited and loans given to farmers, while the Prime Minister directed to formulate and present a comprehensive plan by the end of this month to provide loans to farmers on easy terms and introduce a system compatible with contemporary requirements in the agri-financing sector.