Nowadays everything is technological. Use of phones in everything is becoming common. Large machineries are vanishing and latest technology is taking their place. All around the word there have been developments in Agriculture. Pakistan is also taking forward a step to enter Tech hub of Agriculture. According to the news Telenor‘s Tameer Bank is joining hands with Punjab Government unite to expedite Digital Farming by giving outsmart (interest free) loans to farmers in Punjab.
“It gives us immense pleasure to be part of this historic scheme to revitalize Punjab’s agriculture potential. We are bringing in Telenor Pakistan, Tameer Bank and Easy paisa’s technological infrastructure to support and expedite the government of Punjab’s interest-free loans scheme for small farmers. We are positive that through calculated and focused implementation, monitoring and support, we will be able to help the farmers increase their yield many folds and contribute additionally to the socio-economic progress of the country. We thank Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shehbaz Sharif for trusting in Tameer Microfinance Bank as the partner.”
said Ali Riaz Chaudhry who is president and CEO of Tameer Bank on an interview.
He further added,
“The networked digital farm of the future is already making agriculture more efficient and sustainable today. I believe that production capabilities can be increased incredibly by simply providing timely information to the farmers. With a perfect blend of good soil and state-of-the art technology, Pakistan can show wonders on increasing the production capabilities. Many of the poor can benefit from the Tameer Bank’s interest free loan plan. We hope to see an Agricultural Smart home land soon.”
Telenor together with the government of Punjab will distribute smart phones under the scheme to help farmers benefit from the host of Digital Farming services. This will enable farmers to have an access to; E-credit scheme (Digital Wallet), weather Alerts, Crop Calendar, Agri TV, E-Zarri Baithak, and more.
The project aims to increase productivity in an efficient way. The loans will be granted to 485,000 farmers the total amount of loans is 79 billion rupees. In which The Tameer Bank has announced loans of about 2 billion rupees for a total 35, 000 farmers. Whereas, the Punjab Government has contributed a total share of PKR 77 billion for 450,000 farmers. The loan is going to be interest free.
This is a major step toward technological revolution. We are hoping to see strict implementation of rules. So that loan can reach right hands and right time for better production.