Rs8.39bn subsidy to be provided to farmers

Karachi_The Sindh government will start distributing Rs 5,000 per acre of support cash among flood-hit farmers for buying wheat seeds from Sunday (tomorrow).
The cash will be given to the farmers through the Benazir Income Support Programme.
In this regard, the Sindh government is organizing a function in the Chief Minister’s House at 3:30 PM on March 5.
All the flood-affected farmers were invited to the event.
Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will attend the ceremony as chief guest.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, PPP federal and provincial ministers, MNAs, advisors, and special assistants will participate in the event. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will distribute the cash money to the farmers on the occasion.
Pertinent to mention a total amount of Rs4.224 billion will be distrib¬uted among the farmers.
The amount of subsidy will be distributed among 1 lac 85 thousand 928 farmers who have 12 and a half acres of land in Sindh.
Earlier
The government would disburse through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) cash subsidy of Rs 8.39 billion instead of seeds to the farmers of the flood-hit areas identified in the database created by the Government of Sindh and shared by the National Information Technology Board (NITB).
The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety informed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in a summary that the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MoNFS&R) has been engaged with Sindh government for provision of assistance to wheat seeds growing farmers of flood-hit areas.
The discussion ensued during meetings of National Flood Response Coordination Committee (NFRCC) under the chairmanship of Ahsanlqbal, Minister for Planning Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives (MoPDR&SI).
The committee, in its meeting held in December, 2022, recommended that cash subsidy will be immediately provided to the farmers instead of seeds.The proposed assistance consisted of cash disbursement of Rs 14.99 billion including Rs 6.56 billion (Rs 3.2 billion as supplementary grant and Rs 3.4 billion from World Bank’s Leaf Project) from the federal government and Rs 8.39 billion from the Government of Sindh.The Government of Sindh has approached the BISP with a request to take the above stated database from the NITB and start disbursement to farmers from the funds it had transferred to the Finance Division, through a letter dated 12th January 2023. The BISP is of the view that it can disburse the funds as per eligibility criteria and amount for each eligible person identified government of Sindh either after the approval of the programme by the BISP Board or on the directions of the federal government subsequent to the provision of necessary funds from the federal government.
In addition to the aforesaid, the Finance Division on 24th January 2023 has directed to initiate a summary for the ECC for provision of Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) amounting to Rs 8.39 billion, transferred by Sindh government in federal government’s account No I.