Agriculture Department had released more than Rs12 billion to Sindh Bank for second phase of programme
KARACHI:
The Sindh government has decided to provide a subsidy on urea fertiliser to verified wheat farmers under the Sindh Wheat Growers Support Programme, Sindh Minister for Agriculture Sardar Muhammad Bux Khan Mahar said on Saturday.
He said the payment of the subsidy would begin on February 2, 2026, with verified farmers eligible to receive Rs8,000 per acre through Sindh Bank and other designated banks.
The minister said the Agriculture Department had released more than Rs12 billion to Sindh Bank for the second phase of the programme.
Read: Fertiliser use rises despite flood-hit agriculture
A list of 212,171 verified farmers had also been provided to the bank for disbursement purposes.
He added that the subsidy was being extended to wheat growers on the special instructions of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
He said that during the first phase of the programme, farmers had already been given subsidies on DAP fertiliser.
Fertiliser usage in Pakistan has increased on a year-on-year basis, indicating that agricultural activity remains largely intact despite widespread perceptions that recent floods severely damaged the farming sector.
Read more: IMF growth target in doubt as exports, investment, agriculture lag
However, sector stakeholders say the rise reflects price adjustments, policy support mechanisms and shifting crop patterns rather than any broad-based expansion in cultivation or a meaningful improvement in farm incomes.
According to data from the National Fertilizer Development Centre (NFDC), urea offtakes rose by 26% year-on-year and 36% quarter-on-quarter to reach 2.5 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2025, compared with 2.0 million tonnes in the same period last year, according to Insight Securities.
The brokerage noted that the increase was likely driven by the Rabi season and advance buying by dealers amid attractive discounts.
In contrast, DAP offtakes declined by 21% year-on-year to 543,000 tonnes, compared with 690,000 tonnes in the same period last year.
