Punjab farmers benefit as 900,000 Kisan Cards roll out, Rs 360bn loans disbursed

Under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, 900,000 Kisan Cards have been issued across the province, with loans worth Rs. 360 billion disbursed to farmers and an impressive 99% recovery rate achieved. An important meeting of the Agriculture Department was held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Punjab, in which a detailed review of the Kisan Card program and agricultural mechanisation was conducted. The meeting was informed that international audit firm KPMG will submit a report on the impact of the Kisan Card by September 30, and that Maryam Nawaz’s Kisan Card program will be promoted globally. On this occasion, it was decided to include 1,500 more agricultural graduates in the next phase of the internship program. The design of model agri malls was approved in the meeting, and photographic evidence and models were presented. Ten new and modern model agri malls equipped with modern facilities will be built across the province.

The Chief Minister also approved the Thal Transformation Program. It was decided to introduce 1,000 ponds and irrigation schemes to store water in the Thal region, and she also approved the plantation of Malta orchards on 10,000 acres in the backward areas of Thal.

It was further reported that 900,000 Kisan Cards have been issued in Punjab so far, and with the addition of another 50,000 farmers, the target of one million will soon be achieved. Interest-free loans worth Rs. 360 billion have been disbursed to farmers so far, with a loan recovery rate of 99 per cent under the project.

Under the mechanisation program, 280 modern agricultural machines have been provided to farmers so far. A target has been set to provide a total of 2,000 modern agricultural machines to farmers by June 2027.

The briefing further stated that 80 per cent of the loans issued were used by farmers for the purchase of fertilisers. A loan of Rs. 116 billion was provided for the Kharif crop, out of which Rs. 62 billion has been utilised. Farmers spent 75 per cent of the Kharif loans specifically on fertilisers. The Chief Minister of Punjab stated that the government has truly empowered farmers.

It was also stated that 34,000 green tractors are being distributed across Punjab in three phases. Forty-one per cent of the farmers who received tractors are those who obtained tractors for the first time in their lives. Twenty per cent of farmers also purchased modern agricultural equipment along with the tractors, while 32 per cent are providing services to other farmers as service providers.

Maryam Nawaz said that for the first time in Punjab’s history, 50,000 tractors will be distributed over three years. In the past, no government has provided such a large number of tractors to farmers. The entire tractor distribution process has been fully computerised, eliminating human intervention.