Paddy farmers to get subsidised harvesters, dryers

Paddy farmers to get subsidised harvesters, dryers

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By Aftab Maken

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited will provide subsidised paddy harvesters and dryers to farmers to help them overcome pre and post-harvest crop losses, reveals a draft of a scheme of the commerce ministry under Trade Policy 2009-10.
The Benazir Paddy Harvesters/Dryers Scheme for the farmers would be partly funded by the commerce ministry while remaining funds would be provided by the ZTBL to the farmers on easy installments, showed the scheme’s initial draft available with The News.
The commerce ministry would provide Rs500 million, which would be used as a matching grant for paddy harvesters and dryers for intending progressive farmers and millers. The grant would either be financed by the ZTBL or by the farmers and millers to get these machines for ensuring they were used in the paddy harvesting season, it added.
“Proper use of modern combined harvesters can save up to 30 per cent pre and post-harvest crop losses while dryers can also be introduced with optimum moisture for fetching a better price,” the scheme said.
Pakistan is the world’s fifth largest exporter of rice, which accounted for 11.4 per cent of the country’s exports last year with shipments worth over $2 billion. Lack of advanced grain-drying machines is causing a huge loss to the farmers and millers as inclement weather conditions result in damage to crops.
According to eligibility criteria, those farmers/millers will be entitled to subsidised machines who exclusively engage in processing, packing and marketing of more than 75 per cent of their own paddy/rice produce.
It said the farmers should be owner and cultivating export quality rice over a piece of land measuring 25 acres and above and should also produce proof of supply of export quality rice to the millers in the last three years.
The criteria further said the applicants should not be a defaulter of any bank or government department and should also deposit a token amount equal to 10 per cent of the price of machines along with the application. The bank would also charge a processing fee of Rs5,000.
In case, the applicant intends to purchase the harvesters and dryers on cash basis, he will have to deposit 50 per cent of the price on receipt of acceptance intimation, which will be inclusive of the 10 per cent amount already deposited by him along with the application.
They should be registered members of rice growers associations including Kissan Board Pakistan, Chamber of Agriculture, Basmati Growers Association, Awain-e-Zaraat, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture and Singh Hari Abadgar and these machines were also non-transferable for three years, the criteria said.
In 2008-09, rice exports were 3.3 million tons last year because of high demand and this year (2009-10), exports would again be above three million tons. Production is expected to be around 6.3 million tons while domestic consumption is estimated at 2.5 million tons.