Agricultural credit disbursements surged to a record Rs. 1.412 trillion in the first half of FY26, while the number of borrowers rose to 2.97 million.
The figures were shared during a meeting of the Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee, chaired by State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad, where the performance of agricultural finance and future policy direction were reviewed.
The governor highlighted that agricultural credit had already reached a record Rs. 2.577 trillion in FY25, marking a 16 percent year-on-year increase. He said Pakistan’s economy has regained macroeconomic stability and is moving towards a more durable growth path, with real GDP growth at 3.7 percent in the first quarter of FY26 and full year growth projected between 3.75 percent and 4.75 percent.
To accelerate expansion in lending, particularly among small farmers in underserved and unserved areas, banks were urged to fully utilise central bank initiatives including the Risk Coverage Scheme for Small Farmers and Underserved Areas and Zarkheze, the State Bank’s flagship digital platform for agricultural credit delivery.
The committee reviewed progress under Zarkheze, describing it as a key step in the digital transformation of farm lending. The platform enables digital onboarding, standardised credit assessment, integration with land and crop data and end to end loan traceability, while also ensuring financing is used for quality inputs through an integrated vendor network.
The governor stressed that Zarkheze should be scaled up as a core delivery channel to make small-ticket lending commercially viable and to expand outreach beyond traditional high-volume regions. He urged banks to ensure timely processing of applications, strengthen internal ownership of the scheme and further develop the vendor ecosystem to improve access to certified inputs and advisory services.
He also called on banks to fully implement their Agricultural Credit Expansion Plans for FY26 and emphasised coordination with provincial governments for land record digitisation, alongside partnerships with fintechs, agri tech firms and microfinance institutions to strengthen outreach.
The meeting also discussed the development of an upgraded Crop Loan Insurance Scheme under the Asian Development Bank-funded Pakistan Insurance Transformation Programme to enhance sector resilience against calamities. The proposed framework aims to expand crop coverage, establish an insurance consortium for improved risk sharing and payouts, introduce technology-based calamity assessment and provide loss of income support.
In addition, the committee deliberated on scaling up Electronic Warehouse Receipt Financing to improve post-harvest liquidity, reduce distress sales and strengthen market linkages. It also underscored the need to expand accredited warehousing infrastructure and enhance bank participation in warehouse based financing.