Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif launches the fourth phase of the Green Tractor Scheme, with thousands of farmers set to receive subsidized tractors.
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday launched the fourth phase of the Green Tractor Scheme through digital balloting, with the provincial government planning to provide 19,500 tractors to farmers during the current fiscal year.
The chief minister pressed the button to conduct the electronic balloting, with Masood Khan from Attock becoming the first successful farmer to receive a tractor under the latest phase. The application portal for the next phase was also opened during the ceremony.
Officials briefed Maryam Nawaz that 10,000 tractors with engine capacities ranging from 50 to 65 horsepower would be distributed under Phase IV. Each successful farmer will receive a subsidy of Rs750,000 from the Punjab government.
A further 9,500 high-powered tractors, ranging from 75 to 125 horsepower, will be offered under Phase V. The subsidy for each tractor under this phase will be Rs1 million.
The provincial government has allocated Rs17.6 billion for the Green Tractor Scheme. Officials said 24,000 tractors had already been provided to farmers under the programme, with a subsidy of Rs1 million per tractor.
During the ceremony, Maryam Nawaz also inspected tractors included in the scheme, including locally manufactured 90-horsepower tractors and locally assembled 100-horsepower models.
Officials highlighted an increase in the pace of tractor distribution and agricultural mechanisation under the current provincial government. According to the briefing, 10,000 tractors were distributed during the previous 20 years, compared with 35,000 tractors provided to farmers over the past two and a half years.
Similarly, only Rs3 billion was spent on agricultural mechanisation over the previous two decades, while around Rs20 billion has been allocated or spent under the current government, officials said.
Punjab has also seen the local manufacturing of 90-horsepower tractors and the local assembly of 100-horsepower tractors for the first time, according to officials.
The latest phase attracted significant interest from farmers, with 213,637 applications submitted for the scheme. Following verification through the Punjab Land Records Authority and the National Database and Registration Authority, 128,757 applicants were declared eligible for the digital balloting.
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