Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL) has decided to provide relief to farmers from flood-affected areas by deferring loans of Rs. 20 billion under the directives of the Prime Minister.
As per the officials of ZTBL, the loans will be deferred for one year. This measure will benefit around 57 thousand farmers. The bank, in a statement, noted that the recent floods have devastated the livelihoods of farmers by destroying the crops in Baluchistan and Sindh. The bank also stated that the flood water is also damaging sugarcane crops in Sindh.
ZTBL reaffirmed its support to the farmers and stated the bank would extend the facility of deferment/rescheduling of agricultural loans to farmers from Sindh and Baluchistan. Furthermore, farmers from areas declared as “disaster-affected” by the National Disaster Management Authority will also be able to avail of the facility.
Recently, Federal Minister for Planning and Chairman National Flood Response and Coordination Center (NFRCC), Ahsan Iqbal, said that the damages caused by floods are estimated to stand between $30 and $40 billion.
Minister Iqbal stated that a comprehensive evaluation of the flood-induced losses is underway in collaboration with the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the provincial and federal governments. He added that the report will be finalized within the next four to six weeks while the initial assessment will be completed by the end of this week.
