Pakistan PM announces $3.2 b package for farm sector

Tuesday, 22 September 2015 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Pakistani farmers will receive $3.2 billion in grants, subsidies and loan advances from the government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced last week, in a bid to spur sluggish growth in one of the country’s main economic sectors.

The new schemes represent the government’s largest economic development program for the agricultural sector since it was voted into office in 2013. The funds will be provided through immediate cash grants and subsidies on agricultural inputs worth $1.4 billion, while loan advances worth $1.85 billion will also be made and disbursements begin this year, he said. “The conditions of the agricultural sector do not inspire confidence,” Sharif said as he announced the new package at a farmers’ convention in Islamabad.

The reforms and grants will primarily target small farmers, classified as those with holdings of 12.5 acres (5.1 hectares) or less.

The package includes immediate cash grants for rice and cotton farmers, cuts in fertiliser prices, and a government scheme to pay insurance premiums for farmers who cannot afford them.

It also includes collateral guarantees for loans, and tax breaks for the dairy, poultry and fish farming sectors. Agriculture accounts for roughly 23.8 percent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product, according to the country’s central bank. Wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane and maize being its main crops.