PESHAWAR, June 14: The NWFP chief minister Akram Khan Durrani on Tuesday unveiled policy for agriculture sector, which includes tax cuts for small farmers, multi-billion rupees investment programmes, legal reforms and facilities for the farmers community.
The policy aims at attaining self-sufficiency in food security, poverty alleviation through creation of jobs in the agriculture/livestock and horticulture sectors. It would integrate and improve services delivery system, strengthen public/private partnership, ensure increased participation of farming community in decision making.
The policy also includes conservation of water resources, provision of relief in tax regime, gender mainstreaming and promoting horticulture sector by capitalising on the comparative advantage the province enjoys due to diverse agro-ecological climatic conditions.
Apart from formulating multi-stakeholders district agricultural coordination forums/committees in all districts (24) of the province with an aim to coordinate, support and monitor various activities at district level and put forth recommendations on regular basis, the policy envisages constitution of core groups in horticulture, livestock and agriculture sectors to give in put and suggest measures for the promotion and development of the agriculture sector.
Announcing major tax relief for small farmers, the chief minister said that owners of land holdings covering up to five acres of land would be exempted from the payment of land tax.
In this way the province has reverted back to the 1997-98 financial year’s position when the tax had been introduced across the board, abolishing exemption to owners of land holdings up to five acres.
Mr Durrani termed it a major incentive for the small farmers and claimed that about 1.5 million farmers would benefit directly from the decision. But, the sources said, the move would deprive the provincial government from an annual income of about Rs35 million on account of land tax, which makes major part of the dual component land tax and agriculture income tax ordinance 2001-02.
The move, according to official sources, is likely to negatively impact the provincial government’s endeavours to raise Rs73 million under the two heads during the next financial year while the government was not likely to meet the Rs65 million target set for the out-going financial year.
“We can’t do much in terms of extending major tax relieves to the farmers community because our hands are tied due to the agreements which our predecessors had signed with international donor agencies including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank,” said the chief minister.
He regretted that rates of abiana being charged from farmers in the Frontier province were significantly higher than the amount being charged by the other three provinces.
“But we can’t do any thing in this respect because of the donors’ conditionalities,” said the chief minister.
He, however, announced an incentive package for the defaulting farmers. They were asked to clear their abiana dues by December 31, 2005 and avail 50 per cent rebate.
The provincial government, he added, had to recover Rs184.2 million from farmers on account of abiana. The government, he added, would give 50 per cent rebate to those who would clear the remaining 50 per cent of their dues by December 31, 2005.
Those who deposited their default amount between January 1 and December 31, 2006 they would be extended 25 per cent exemption against their total default amount.
Further, he announced that mutation fee for transfer of inheritance and gifted land would stand abolished from the upcoming new financial year.
This would result in a revenue loss of about Rs3.5 million to the provincial exchequer, said the chief minister.
The investment measures include an investment of Rs1 billion for 100 bulldozers which would be available free of rent, Rs150 million for model farms services centres at all the 24 districts, Rs8.5 million for establishing biological control laboratories at Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan to help prevent pest attacks on sugarcane crop, Rs20 million support project for farmers to mitigate effects of termite in the affected parts of the province, Rs150 million investment to bring baron land in different parts of the province under cultivation and Rs17.5 million investment to establish soil testing laboratories in seven districts of the province.
The federal government would provide Rs6.06 billion for water courses in various parts of the province. The remaining Rs8 billion, he maintained, would be arranged by the provincial government.
The policy also envisages formation of livestock development board comprising stakeholders.
The board would be headed by a representative from the private sector and would work for achieving growth and bringing investment in the livestock sector.