Rs 37 billion direct subsidy to farmers on fertilizer

Aftab Ahmed

Islamabad: The PTI government has decided to disburse a subsidy of Rs 37 billion to the farmers directly through the scratching cash cards scheme during the current Kharif season but not indirectly through fertilizer manufacturing mafia as done by the previous governments.

According to the scheme, the Federal Government would provide a subsidy of Rs 925 per bag on DAP and other phosphoric fertilizers whereas Rs 243 per bag on urea and other nitrogen fertilizers, and the scheme would also be implemented through provincial governments, it added.

https://newztodays.com/farmers-left-at-mercy-of-fertilizer-barons/

Previously the federal and provincial governments were providing subsidy indirectly to the fertilizer manufacturing units through cross-subsidizing the prices of feedstock (input natural gas used for manufacturing fertilizers) and it never passes on to the farmers for which the subsidy was meant.

Likewise, the collection of billions of rupees through GIDC from fertilizer manufacturers was actually collected from poor farmers as fertilizer manufacturers increased fertilizer prices to pass on the GIDC collection from the farmers.
Under this PTI scheme of fertilizer subsidy for farmers, it further said that the subsidy would be disbursed through a scratch card scheme on the model of the government of Punjab.