Nobility misusing cheap agri credit: PEW
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Agri sector cannot be left on the mercy of dishonest
The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said landed nobility continue to misuse cheap agricultural credit which is barring growth of this vital sector.
As the banks pour more money in the agricultural sector the output reduces which proves misuse of loans by some major borrowers, it said.
Last year banks disbursed Rs598.3 billion as loans against the target of Rs600 billion among 2.4 million farmers but it failed to boost output, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
He said that loan disbursement remained sixteen percent higher than 2014-15 while the number of borrowers also grew by two hundred thousand but it has failed to have an impact on the sector due to mismanagement.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that it must be probed that the loans issued in the name of agriculture sector were actually invested in the same sector or somewhere else.
Government was looking for over three percent growth but the sector registered a negative growth as major crops productivity fell by 6.25pc while important crops showed a decline of 7.25pc.
Offtake of Urea and DAP offtake and sale of pesticides also declined which could be result of low buying power of farmers, he said.
Agriculture sector provides employment to major portion of our labour force. More than 45.0 percent of our labour force is directly involved in agriculture sector, while 66.7 percent of our rural population is dependent on agriculture reducing poverty and ensuring food security therefore it cannot be left on the mercy of the dishonest, he said.
