Loans to agriculture tools makers: government urged to set up 'raw material bank'

The business community engaged with agri-tools industry has urged upon the Punjab government to take initiatives for the modernisation and tracking it on modern production lines. Daska is a famous and had a special repute in producing the agricultural inputs with traditional techniques and without any support of the government catering the needs of domestic farmers and cultivators while agriculture tools were also being exported to South Africa, Afghanistan, Middle East, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
According to available information, there are 96 small and big agri-tools manufacturing units are functioning successfully in and close to Daska out of these 60 units are producing complete machinery while remaining units were producing components of the agriculture machinery. The industry is manufacturing fully automotive tools and catering the needs and requirements of farmers of the Punjab easily. The machinery likes wheat reaper, wheat thrashers, multipurpose reaper machines and land laser levellers besides fodder cutters and wheat sowing machines are being manufactured in the area.
Most of the manufacturers of agriculture machinery told Business Recorder during the visit that Daska is the pioneer in manufacturing the wheat straw chopper and rice stubble chopper machines. With the passage of time the industry is now producing modern machinery to facilitate grower community of the Punjab.
The manufacturers engaged with the industry have started producing hi-tech agriculture machinery on their own resources and the Punjab government should take steps for imparting training to the small growers about utilisation of agricultural machinery for enhancing per acre yield of the crops as well as the utilisation of hi-tech machinery would help reduce sowing problems of the farmers. There was a great need of setting up "Raw material bank" to enable the agri-tools manufacturers to manufacture tools according to international standard. If Punjab government take initiative in this regard it will provide test material to the manufacturers.
Some agri-tools manufacturers were of the opinion that high tariff of electricity and heavy taxes are hindering the development of the industry whereas in neighbouring countries the governments are extending special concessions in facilitating the industrial sectors of their countries. The Punjab government should provide the facility of loans at lower mark-up to agricultural tools manufacturers enabling them to modernise their workplaces.
The manufacturers are also confronting with serious problems due to the non-availability of raw material and non-availability of test laboratories as a result of which the manufacturers are facing hardships. The small growers are unable to purchase agricultural machinery because the utilisation of imported parts in agricultural machinery is causing high cost of the tools. They called upon the government to establish a "Raw material bank" and a testing laboratory in Daska enabling the manufacturers to obtain analysis of iron and other components at local level.