MULTAN - Provincial Minister for Agriculture Naeem Akhtar Bhabha Monday said that he would try his level best to ensure zero tax on agriculture inputs in the coming budget.
"I myself want that there should be no tax on agriculture inputs and I will try to convince Finance Minister Ishaaq Dar to abolish all sorts of taxes on agriculture," the minister expressed these views while addressing the cotton seminar held under auspices of Pakistan Crops Protection Association (PCPA), Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) and Agriculture Department Multan.
He said that Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif was taking too much interest in agriculture sector. He maintained that although Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif was in China on an important tour, but he (CM) called meeting of Agriculture department officials on video-link on Monday, in order to know about wheat purchase campaign and cotton sowing in the province.
Bhabha observed that prosperity of the country was linked to prosperity of farmers.
The government was extending different facilities to farmers, he said and added that Rs 100 billion interest free loans were given to small farmers in the province.
He urged the farmers to come toward multi-cropping in order to get handsome price against the produce. We should produce commodities in line with country requirement.
"We should try to develop different crop zones and crops should be sown in calculated way", he added.