QUETTA: The Balo­chistan government has launched the implementation of the Thresher Subsidy Scheme to provide relief to small landowners and especially farmers cultivating wheat.

The initiative aims to reduce the financial pressure on farmers caused by rising fuel prices.

In a post on social media platform X, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bu­­gti said that subsidy amo­unts have already been transferred to the accounts of 3,102 farmers, while 13,128 more farmers will receive the subsidy within the next two to three days.

He said that the distribution process will be completed rapidly in phases as account verification continues, ensuring all eligible farmers receive the thresher subsidy.

According to the Agriculture Department’s data, 85,821 farmers have been registered across the province, out of which 74,202 have already been verified. The number of wheat growers in Balochistan stands at 68,972, while 50,329 farmers own 12.5 acres or less agricultural land.

The chief minister said that rising fuel prices during regional tensions have severely impacted the agriculture sector, particularly small farmers whose wheat crops are ready and have entered the threshing stage.

He said that fuel subsidies are being provided on a per-acre basis to reduce the burden of increased costs and help farmers complete harvesting and threshing on time.

He directed relevant authorities to make the subsidy distribution process faster, transparent, and more effective so that the maximum number of deserving farmers benefit from the scheme and agricultural production in the province is increased.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2026