ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: The government is considering reducing by 1 to 1.5 per cent the interest rate of the Zarai Bank, formerly known as Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan, with a view to helping the small farmers.

Official sources told Dawn here on Friday that Prime Minister’s Advisor on Finance Shaukat Aziz and Minister for Agriculture Sardar Muhammad Rind have agreed, in principle, to lower the interest rate of the Zarai Bank on the directive of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

The sources said the advisor on finance has convened a meeting of Zarai Bank officials here on Saturday to discuss and formally reduce its interest rate.

Currently, the bank is charging over 14 per cent interest rate which the political government considers as “very high”.