SUKKUR, Oct 31: The Chairman Zarai Taraqayyati Bank Limited, Istaqbal Mehdi has said that fresh monetary injection from ADB has given new lease of life to the bank, and because of the structural changes the bank was now to play a pivotal role in the country’s agriculture economy.

He was addressing a press conference in Sukkur on Friday. He had come to Sukkur and Khairpur on a special visit to assess the ZTBL’s performance and farmers grievances in view of their huge losses of dates, banana and cotton crop because of the pest attack.

He said his bank was providing loans to the farmers to the tune of Rs30 billions, every year to buy farm inputs, and that the campaign had also been launched for the recovery of defaulted loans. In Sukkur region 70 loans default cases had been sent to the banking courts for further action.

He confirmed that the ABD had released $225 millions, while another tranche of $50 million would come in January 2004.

He said the rate of mark up has also been slashed from 14 per cent to 11 per cent for encouraging the farm sector borrowings, he said.

He said that an amount of Rs1.30 billion had been disbursed among 24,000 farmers in Sukkur and Ghotki districts, as farm loans during the current year, and the pace of recovery was quite satisfactory, while an amount of Rs400 million have so far been recovered.