ISLAMABAD, June 4: President Pervez Musharraf is expected to announce an incentive package for farming community including reduction in electricity rates for tubewells and mark-up on agriculture loans to single digit in the farmers convention on June 10, Dawn has learnt.

This was decided at a meeting jointly presided over by President Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali on the agriculture sector. The meeting was also was attended by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, Agriculture Minister Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, four provincial chief ministers and other concerned secretaries of ministries and chairman Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL).

The meeting urged the finance minister to ensure that the forthcoming federal budget brought incentives for the farming community since agriculture was the backbone of country's economy, sources toldDawn.

The sources said that both the president and the prime minister had asked the government to introduce considerable reduction in the duties and taxes on all the farm inputs and agriculture machinery.

The president said that special emphasis should be laid in the development programme on the lining of water courses, strengthening of the weak irrigation system, and storage of water for the optimum use of water resources to give boost to agriculture, the sources said.

The sources said that currently there is not a single agriculture loan package of ZTBL that offers single digit mark up, and that is why the president had decided that interest rates on agriculture loans should be brought down to nine per cent and for the purpose he directed the finance ministry to work out the details with the State Bank and the concerned departments.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Yousuf told reporters that the meeting focused on the issues to see that agriculture sector was developed to the extent that it helps farmers particularly small farmers to flourish and growth in agriculture sector also increases.

He said the meeting stressed that in water courses and canals for agriculture purposes the focus should be on the tail-end users of water and the government should see that there was a just distribution of water for tail enders as well, Mr Yousuf said.

The source said that president and the prime minister told the meeting that agriculture sector should be strengthened and the miseries of farmers particularly small farmers should be addressed immediately.