ISLAMABAD: The Senate was informed on Tuesday that the government is planning to provide agricultural loans to small farmers through banks.
Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb responding to a question during the Question Hour in the Upper House of the parliament, said that IT and agriculture sectors are the real levers of the economy and the government is providing agriculture loans to the big and small farmers to boost their agricultural production.
The Minister further said the State Bank of Pakistan took a number of initiatives during the past five years to enhance access to agriculture credit for farmers across the country.
He said the central bank plays a vital role in the provision of financing requirements to the agriculture sector due to its significance for economic growth, food security and employment.
The Minister further said as a result of these programs, agriculture credit disbursement increased by 82.4 percent from 1,215 billion rupees in 2020 to 2,216 billion rupees by the end of June this year.
Responding to another question, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal said textiles and apparel exports slightly witnessed an increase of 0.93 percent during the last financial year.
