July 30, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 19,1423

KARACHI, July 29: For a variety of reasons, farmers in Punjab continue to receive out of proportion bulk amount of agricultural production and development loans keeping farmers of Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP and Aazad Kashmir fund starved.

Official figures show that during 01-02 fiscal farmers in Punjab were given more than Rs31 billion loans as against hardly Rs13 billion given to farmers in Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP and Azad Kashmir.

“It is more by default than by design,” a senior executive in one of the nationalized bank remarked who blame officials of Sindh and Balochistan for failing to offer a convincing case for their farmers before the federal government.

For last more than ten years, the provincial cooperatives bank in Sindh and Balochistan are non-functional whereas Punjab is the only recipient of funds from Federal Bank of Cooperatives (FBC). “More than Rs4 billion have been distributed by the FBC in Punjab alone during last fiscal year,” a prominent agriculturist in Sindh said.

Overall, Punjab got almost 71 per cent of the total agricultural loans disbursed in 2001-02 while three other provinces and Azad Kashmir have shared between them 19 per cent remaining amount.

For the last many years, abortive efforts have been made to revive the provincial cooperative banks in Sindh and Balochistan. Farmers blame the big landlords and officials responsible for the closure caused by default and bad loans. “Not a single feudal or official has been taken to task for squandering off the cooperative loans,” the agriculturist said.

Bankers say that out of a total of about Rs32 billion production loan for major crops, the farmers in Punjab took away the bulk—more than Rs23 billion—while only Rs8 billion loans were given to farmers in Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP and Azad Kashmir.

Vegetable growers were given more than Rs216 million out of which more than Rs155 million were disbursed in Punjab and farmers in remaining three provinces and Azad Kashmir could get only Rs60 million. Azad Kashmir probably does not grow any vegetable where not a single rupee was given.

Balochistan is presented as a fruit orchard of Pakistan but its fruit farmers could get hardly Rs3 million out of a total of more than Rs83 million. Farmers in Punjab got more than Rs66 million and those in Sindh could get hardly Rs5 million. Orchard owners in NWFP got about Rs9 million.

No farmer in Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP and Azad Kashmir got a loan for construction of on-farm godowns and cold storages for which banks gave away about Rs32 million in Punjab.

Tail position of Sindh in the water distribution system made the water scarcity a case of life and death for farmers. On special instructions of the government, the banks offered more than Rs617 million for digging tube wells in the province. Official figures show that Punjab farmers were given about Rs533 million. Those in NWFP got about Rs71 million, in Balochistan Rs123 million and no credit facility for farmers in Azad Kashmir.

Out of a total tractor loans amounting to more than Rs4 billion, Punjab farmers got more than Rs3.8 billion and remaining Rs200 million tractor loans were given in other provinces and Azad Kashmir.

About Rs129 million was sanctioned for construction of off farm godowns and cold storages. Of this Rs65.14 million was given in Punjab and remaining in other parts of the country.

Out of about Rs1 billion for dairy farming, the banks gave about 40 per cent in Punjab, about Rs237 million in NWFP, about Rs102 million in Sindh, Rs119 million Azad Kashmir and only Rs3 million in Balochistan.

Fisheries, a vital sub segment of agriculture in terms of its share in the GDP was given only Rs331 million. Fishermen in Sindh were given Rs326 million and more than Rs4 million to Balochistan.