LAHORE – Agriculture Department spokesman has said that the Punjab government has decided to include farmers having land up to 50 acres in E-Credit scheme.
The government is providing interest free loans to small farmers through this scheme and until now 3,14,000 small growers were credited.
As interest free loans to farmers having up to 25 acres agricultural land are already being provided, the owners of up to 50 acres land will get loan on subsidised rates.
The government is disbursing Rs40,000 per acre for Kharif season crops during this fiscal year. Under E-Credit scheme, farmer can get loan from Akhuwat, National Rural Support Programme, Telenor Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and Zari Taraqiyati Bank of Pakistan.
The criteria to get load is that the farmers will have to visit offices of Land Record Management and reproduce their original CNIC, mobile numbers and other details of their land. Staff will issue token and if a farmer succeeds up to their merit then bank will call him for loan. The government has also provided smartphones to registered farmers under Khadim-E-Punjab Kissan Package and they will get informed about loan status through special application of this smart phones.
The interest free loan, according to the spokesman, contributes a lot in achieving 5.75 per cent growth rate in agriculture sector.