Senior Vice Chairman of Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) Mumshad Ali has lauded the incentives announced for the farmers by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and said it is a very good news for the tractor and vending industries. Ali also appreciated efforts of Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan and his Ministry for Agricultural and Food Security for finalising this package.
This package will increase the income of the farmers to modernise the agriculture sector, he added. Talking to Business Recorder here on Wednesday he also welcomed the announcement that the government and the State Bank of Pakistan are working over reducing the mark-up rate on agriculture loans by two percent which would give a benefit of Rs 11 billion per annum to the farmers.
Ali also shared his views about the subsidised tractor schemes announced by Punjab and Sindh governments for the farmers in the budgets but the implementation on the schemes is yet to start. He said PAAPAM is of the view that provinces should determine the shortage of tractors in their respective provinces and then a national plan be made to fulfil this gap by creating a fund of matching grants by the federal and provincial governments.
He said, "This fund should be given to ZTBL for the purpose of mark-up reduction on tractor loan. If a five-year plan to fulfil the shortage of tractors is made in this manner it would mean that a vast majority of the farmers will be able to benefit from this fund, and the industry will also get stable volumes, which have been very erratic for the last few years."