Government leader Shehbaz sets agricultural loans plan to streamline issuance for small and medium-sized farming businesses, aiming to increase their growth.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to prepare a comprehensive action plan by the end of July 2025, focusing on providing loans on easy terms to small and medium-scale farmers in Pakistan, particularly those owning less than 12 acres of land.
The action plan, which is being developed specifically for medium and small-scale agricultural activities, aims to facilitate access to modern agricultural machinery, artificial intelligence, and quality seeds to boost productivity and modernize farming practices. It also plans to develop a demand-driven agri-financing system that meets contemporary agricultural needs and ensures timely and accessible financial support, especially for small-scale farmers.
In addition, the plan seeks to enable farmers to acquire small-scale industrial machinery for processing agricultural commodities into exportable goods, promoting value addition and exports. The plan also emphasizes the need for accelerating reforms related to better water use, modern equipment, and on-farm small industries to support sustainable growth in agriculture.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) released a statement, confirming that strengthening the role of the Agricultural Development Bank and enhancing its lending performance for farmers is also a key component of the action plan. The PMO further stated that the PM emphasized the critical importance of the agricultural sector for Pakistan’s overall development and stressed that supporting smallholder farmers is a national priority to ensure sustainable economic growth.
During the meeting on planning and agri-financing for national agricultural development, the PM called for an action plan for providing loans on easy terms for modern agricultural machinery. The PM did not specify any changes in the action plan being developed or provide any details about the sources of funding for the easy-term loans.
The agricultural development of Pakistan is conditional on the sector and the value addition of farmers' production, according to PM Shehbaz. The PM did not mention any new deadlines or timelines for the presentation of the action plan, nor did he discuss any other sectors or aspects of national development during the meeting.
In summary, the action plan aims to provide easy, flexible loans while offering modern farming tools and technologies, ensuring small and medium farmers can increase productivity and add value to their outputs, thus contributing to Pakistan’s agricultural and economic development. The PMO reviewed the meeting and the PM's directions, underscoring the government's commitment to prioritizing small farmers in the country's agricultural development.
The action plan, focusing on small and medium-scale farmers, includes developing a demand-driven agri-financing system to facilitate access to timely and accessible financial support, particularly for those who own less than 12 acres of land (finance, business). As the plan progresses, it also aims to enable farmers to acquire small-scale industrial machinery for processing agricultural commodities, promoting value addition and exports (business, finance).
