Financial discipline bore fruit for hundreds of cultivators across Punjab as authorities handed out tractors, motorcycles, and mobile phones to those who paid their dues without delay. According to Business Recorder, a special ceremony took place at the Agriculture House in Lahore to celebrate participants of the fourth phase of the Chief Minister Punjab Kissan Card Programme.
During the event, Business Recorder reported that 420 farmers who cleared their installments by November 5 were selected through a balloting process. Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Usama Khan Leghari attended the gathering as the chief guest, joined by Special Secretary Agriculture Punjab Agha Nabeel Akhtar, Director General Agriculture Information Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, and Bank of Punjab representatives including Noufal Dawood. Prizes distributed at the ceremony included four tractors, five motorcycles, and three mobile phones.
Background
According to Business Recorder, the Kissan Card Programme is an initiative of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Over the past two and a half years, the scheme has delivered interest-free loans worth billions of rupees to growers, covering agricultural needs from planting to harvesting.
Why it matters
Business Recorder noted that the programme aims to help farmers finance their operations and reduce financial dependence on middlemen.