Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Federal Cabinet on Wednesday approved a PKR 50 billion package for the agriculture sector, a news source reported.
The ECC meeting was chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. During the proceedings, the session was presented with a PKR 56.6 billion package proposal for the agriculture sector; with the ECC deciding to allocate only PKR 50 billion against the request.
Further, the ECC directed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to rationalise in line with the Prime Minister’s PKR 100 billion corona relief package on an equitable basis for the agriculture sector and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The government has already disbursed PKR 50 billion for SMEs to provide indirect cash assistance to about 3.5 million people through prepaid electric power.
The government, reportedly, is set to provide a subsidy of PKR 36 billion to farmers on fertilizers, such as urea and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), under the agriculture package. Additionally, it will grant subsidies worth PKR 2.3 billion on cotton seeds and PKR 8.8 billion for mark-up on loans. The agriculture package will also include a subsidy of PKR 2.5 billion on the sales tax accrued on locally-made tractors for one year.
