Pakistan Declares Farm Aid Bundle

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced farmers will receive $3.2 billion in grants, subsidies, and loans from the government in a bid to spur poor increase.

“The conditions of the agricultural sector do not inspire confidence,” Sharif said as he announced the new package at a farmers’ convention in Islamabad on September 15.

The funds will be supplied through immediate cash grants and subsidies on agricultural inputs worth $1.4 billion, while loan loans worth $1.85 billion will also be made and disbursements start this year, he said.

The brand new schemes represent the largest economic development plan of the government for the agricultural sector because it was voted into office in 2013.

Agriculture accounts for approximately 23.8 percent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product, according to the state’s central bank. Wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane, and corn are its primary crops.