LAHORE: The Punjab government will spend Rs 35 billion over the next two years to promote agricultural mechanization in the province.
Under this programme, farmers and service providers will be offered interest-free agricultural loans of up to Rs 50 million through banks.
The scheme intends to benefit small service providers who own two or three old agricultural machines, enabling them to acquire a new machine.
Minister for Agriculture & Livestock, Punjab, Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani disclosed this while presiding over an important meeting at the Agriculture House to finalize proposals projects for the agriculture sector in the Budget 2025-26. The meeting reviewed various proposals under the transforming agriculture Punjab initiatives, including the CM Punjab High-Tech Mechanization Bank Financing Program and other initiatives of the Chief Minister Punjab. Secretary Agriculture, Punjab, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, was also present at the occasion.
During the meeting, the Minister instructed the agriculture department’s field wing to connect with service providers at the divisional level and inform them about the scheme’s benefits. This programme will be launched as a pilot project in the next fiscal budget. If farmers and service providers show interest, its size and scale will be expanded further.
Additionally, all agricultural machinery dealers in Punjab will be registered, and in the second phase of the Kissan Card programme, small and medium-scale farmers with up to 25 acres of land will be included. The per-acre loan limit will be increased to Rs 40,000, and the processing fee per acre will be reduced to maximize farmers’ participation. A total of Rs 75 billion will be allocated for this scheme which will cover essential agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, and diesel.
Meanwhile, under the CM Punjab Green Tractor Programme Phase-1, out of 9,500 farmers selected through balloting, 8,300 have already received tractors, while the remaining will be handed over by March 31. For Green Tractor Phase-2, 9,500 tractors with 60-85 horsepower will be provided to farmers in the next fiscal year.
The meeting also reviewed the proposals for phase-II of the solarisation of agricultural tube-wells programme.
The meeting was informed that the construction of four model agricultural malls in Punjab is nearing completion, with the Sahiwal Mall set to be completed by April 15. The government has planned to build 10 more model agricultural malls in the next fiscal year’s budget.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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