ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday unveiled a scheme for offering soft agricultural loans to farmers under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Presiding over a review meeting on development of the agriculture sector, the prime minister directed the authorities concerned to formulate a strategy for sustainable agricultural reforms in collaboration with provinces.

“Agricultural reforms shall commence with the provision of easy loans to farmers, for which a public-private partnership model is to be adopted,” Mr Sharif was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the PM Office.

The PM issued directives for urgent reforms in the Zarai Taraqqiati Bank for transparent provision of easy loans to farmers. He said the coming Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) would prioritise agricultural projects, focusing on mechanisation, digitisation, easy access to loans for farmers, and creating a business-friendly environment.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said sustainable agricultural reforms would boost the economy and reiterated the government’s commitment to an enhanced focus on reforming the livestock sector alongside agricultural commodities.

He said the federal and provincial governments would coordinate for implementation of agricultural reforms, calling for proposals to work out short-term and long-term strategies to enhance storage capacity for agricultural commodities.

The prime minister said progress in agriculture would primarily benefit farmers, emphasising collaboration among experts to develop the sector on modern lines.

He called for utilisation of agricultural zoning and value chain strategies to boost exports and introduce technology tailored to the needs of small landholders.

Proposals were presented to the prime minister for increasing agricultural production, improving infrastructure, establishing simple and sustainable regulations for a business-friendly environment, and ensuring easy access to loans for farmers.

The meeting was told that an “agriculture innovation and growth action plan”, focused on increasing farmers’ income, raising productivity and implementing reforms, was going ahead in the right direction.

The prime minister was told that measures were being taken to establish secure storage facilities for agricultural commodities.

Record remittances

The prime minister expressed satisfaction over record remittances received during the fiscal year 2024-25, saying that the government was committed to ushering in economic prosperity for all.

The prime minister observed that Pakistanis had sent remittances totalling $38.3 billion during the previous financial year, surpassing the tally for 2023-24 by $8bn.

“The record surge in remittances reflects expatriate Pakistanis’ valuable contribution and their confidence in the national economy,” the PM observed.

He added that the recent positive economic indicators proved beyond doubt that the government’s policies were paying dividends.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025