ISLAMABAD: The National Food Security and Research Ministry on Sunday launched a markup subsidy scheme for the agricultural sector under the fiscal package announced by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
An amount of Rs6.861 billion would be spent for 10 per cent markup subsidy on agriculture loans disbursed by Zarai Tarqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) in this regard.
The scheme is valid all over the country including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) AJK and Gilgit Baltistan (GB), a press release issued on Sunday said.
The government would bear markup at rate 10pc on agricultural loan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, and an individual farmer shall bear a balance mark up as per the agreed terms.
Farmers up to 12.5 acres of land with a passbook as collateral are eligible while the subsidy shall be available on the date of full payment of the loan, the due date or up to June 30, 2021, whichever is earlier.
In case of default, the borrower shall be liable to pay applicable mark up for the defaulted period. All Agri-loans (Production and Development) fall under as per the above criteria, are eligible.
The ministry has also launched a cotton whitefly subsidy scheme under the package wherein an amount of Rs6.00 bn would be spent as subsidy on the purchase of whitefly related pesticides.
Further, a subsidy of Rs300 per pack of pesticide meant for white flies is also being offered. The subsidy would be Rs300 per application at an average of four applications per acre and will cover five million acres in Punjab and Sindh provinces, which is around 80pc of the cotton area.
