ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government plans to increase agricultural lending to Rs1.5 trillion [$45.36 billion] by June 2027 and the number of beneficiary farmers to 4.5 million, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Friday, as Islamabad attempts to increase farmers’ access to financial resources to strengthen food security and enhance crop quality.

Agriculture is arguably the most important sector of Pakistan’s economy, employing a large workforce and farming contributing to one-fifth of the country’s GDP. The government has repeatedly emphasized expanding credit access to small farmers as part of broader efforts to boost productivity, stabilize food supply and support economic recovery under a reform program backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met a delegation comprising bank presidents and CEOs on Friday to recognize their institutions’ efforts in extending loans to the masses under an affordable housing scheme, to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the agriculture sector.

“The meeting was further informed that the total volume of agricultural loans had reached Rs1.352 trillion [$4.83 billion] by the end of September 2026, benefiting 3,455,313 people,” the PMO said in a statement.

“By June 2027, the government aims to increase agricultural lending to Rs1.5 trillion [$5.36 billion] and the number of farmer beneficiaries to 4.5 million.”

Sharif said improving lending to small-and-medium (SME) businesses, the housing sector and agriculture would promote employment, investment, productivity and overall economic growth.

He directed Pakistan’s central bank to further simplify the loan approval and disbursement process to remove bottlenecks and enable more citizens to benefit from financing.

“Agricultural lending is vital for improving farmers’ economic conditions, increasing agricultural output and ensuring food security,” he said.

Participants of the meeting were informed that approximately 350,862 businesspersons had received loans totaling $4.1 billion under the SME sector. Officials briefed the prime minister that the target is to increase the total volume of SME loans to $5.36 billion and the number of beneficiaries to 565,000 by June 2027.

Agricultural lending has been a focus of Pakistan’s financial inclusion strategy, particularly as policymakers seek to improve rural incomes, stabilize food prices and strengthen export-oriented crop production amid broader economic reforms.