CM says Rs13.5b required to finance seed subsidy program.

KARACHI -- The Chief Minister said that the disruption of the crop cycle threatened our food security, livelihoods, and economy. He added that the Sindh government, on the directives of the Party leadership, planned to support the farmers in the form of enhancing the support price of wheat and Agriculture inputs to revive the agriculture sector.

CM Murad said this while talking to the Seed Subsidy Programme, organised by the Sindh Agriculture Department in collaboration with BISP here at the CM house and was attended by Chief Minister Mu-rad Ali Shah, MPA Ms Faryal Talpur, former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Sindh PPP President Nisar Khuhro, Federal Minister Shazia Mari and Advisor to the CM Manzoor Wassan, provincial minis-ters, MPAs and MNAs.

The Chief Minister said that Rs 13.5 billion were required to finance the seed subsidy program. 'The Sindh government contributed Rs 8.39 billion and the federal government had committed Rs 4.7 billion,' he said and added that due to funding deadlock with the federal government and lack of au-thentic data on farmers, the initial program of providing free seed was revisited when the sowing sea-son had commenced. The CM said that the implementation strategy was changed from the provision of free seed to reimbursement of the cost of seed at Rs 5,000 per acre.

Murad Ali Shah said that backing out of the federal government from providing their share constrained his government to limit the subsidy to the farmers holding the land up to 12.5 Acres in the first phase and 25 acres in the second phase. He said that he was keen to reimburse the amount in lieu of seed to all the farmers, but the federal government did not fulfill its commitment, therefore his government has limited the reimbursement to the small growers holding 12 acres in the first phase.

The CM said that after disbursement of Rs 4.227 billion, an amount of Rs 4.17 billion would remain in balance with BISP which would be...

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