CM Maryam says Kissan Card transforming Punjab farmers’ lives

• Over 832,000 farmers issued Kissan Cards for first time as Rs2.54b loans utilised through scheme

• Wheat season sees over Rs100b in input purchases via card with 86pc recovery rate achieved on agricultural loans

• CM lauds farmers for timely repayment and discipline as Rs90b inputs made available for upcoming kharif season

 LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday said that the Kissan Card programme was transforming the lives of farmers and enabling them to achieve financial independence, asserting that Punjab’s farming community would no longer remain dependent on commission agents (aarhtis) and would be able to live with dignity, according to a Punjab DGPR handout.

Under the vision of the chief minister to introduce innovation in agriculture, more than 832,000 farmers across Punjab have been issued Kissan Cards for the first time. She described it as her aspiration to see farmers of the province move towards financial autonomy and prosperity, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

The statement said farmers had utilised loans worth Rs2.54 billion through the Kissan Card scheme. During the wheat season, agricultural inputs worth over Rs100 billion were purchased by farmers through the facility.

Recoveries amounting to Rs67 billion were due from 538,000 farmers, with an 86 per cent recovery rate achieved. Farmers have set an exemplary precedent by repaying instalments worth Rs57 billion on time.

For the upcoming kharif crop season, agricultural inputs worth Rs90 billion have been made available to farmers through the Kissan Card programme. Around 300,000 farmers have already obtained inputs worth Rs30 billion under the scheme.

The chief minister said the Kissan Card initiative was reshaping the fortunes of Punjab’s farming community and ensuring they were no longer dependent on middlemen for financial support.

She also praised farmers for their timely loan repayments, saying they had set an outstanding example through discipline and responsibility.