Bringing 'green revolution': interest-free loans for farmers demanded

President of Anjuman Kashtkaran Punjab, Peerzada Abdul Ali Zakir Usmani has said that interest free loans be advanced to farmers to bring a green revolution in the country. Modern machinery, hi-bred seed, unadulterated fertilisers and pesticides be supplied on subsidised rates so that farmers could earn at least 10 to 15 billion US dollars per annum by exporting grain, vegetables and fruits.
Talking to newsmen here on Tuesday Usmani said that a majority of planners, rulers, and all the industrial and trading circles agree that agriculture is the one and only sector that can lift Pakistan's growth rate in the shortest possible time. He stressed the need for preparation of a comprehensive agricultural programme with the consent of small farmers to boost up agri-production. He observed that agricultural sector in Pakistan has always responded positively to incentives. Incentives result in faster growth and faster growth in agriculture happens also because of the confidence of the stakeholders, ie the farmers.
Usmani suggested that crop insurance scheme must be introduced and agricultural bank and other banks should be forced to get insurance cover when they advance the loan to farmers so that they could be saved in case of calamity from being bankrupted. He further said that Farmer is the good lender, which returns the loan but unfair weather, non-availability of water, seed and price hike of fertiliser hit him badly. Despite all of this, there is a great potential in our agricultural sector to grow faster than before, considerably the farmers' conditions and the economy.
He pointed out that it is fact that across Pakistan, agribusiness is catching up and new models are being developed to reach out to farmers and consumers, with new technologies. More investments are being done in modern supply chains and in organised food retailing, which sells more and more processed food. All this augurs well for this sector. In fact, the trend towards private investment is due to the increasing demand for food and other agricultural commodities. Similarly, President Anjuman Kashtkaran said, with the income level rising, demand for milk, meat, fruits and vegetables, is also increasing.