Federal Government Announces Interest-Free Loans Worth Rs300 Billion for Farmers

Islamabad: The federal government has announced interest-free loans worth Rs300 billion for small farmers under the “Zarkhaiz Scheme” in the federal budget 2026-27, aimed at supporting the agriculture sector and facilitating small-scale growers.

According to budget documents, nearly 750,000 small farmers across the country will benefit from the scheme. The initiative is designed to promote agricultural activities and reduce the financial burden on farmers.

The government has also allocated Rs5 billion in subsidies for agricultural machinery and proposed a subsidy of Rs1,500 per acre for farmers owning less than 12 acres of land.

In addition, a special package of Rs20 billion has been included for fertilizer manufacturing companies to stabilize fertilizer prices and provide relief to farmers.

To protect the agriculture sector from the impacts of climate change, $200 million has been allocated with support from the World Bank. The budget also proposes Rs3 billion for agricultural tube wells in Balochistan and Rs20 billion for the Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agriculture Programme.

Meanwhile, farmers across the country have rejected the budget, stating that it fails to address key challenges facing the agriculture sector. They argued that the lack of reduction in DAP and urea fertilizer prices has increased the cost of cultivation.

Farmer representatives have urged the government to immediately reduce fertilizer prices and introduce more practical relief measures to safeguard national agricultural production.