A Critical Review of Rural Credit Policy in Pakistan

Abstract

Lack of liquidity which acts as a constraint for agricultural development has provided a rationale for rapid growth in formal agricultural credit in Pakistan since the early 1960s. Between 1959-60 and 1991-92 institutional credit for the sector had registered an annual growth rate of 31 percent in nominal terms and 20 percent in real terms. The explosive increase in agricultural credit was accompanied by a creation of new financial institutions, the strengthening of already existing institutions and the adoption of credit policies to increase the flow of credit for the sector in general and for small farmers in particular. In this paper, an attempt is made to review farm credit policy in Pakistan in relation to its impact on agricultural growth and equity and to assess the strength of the credit institutions to keep contributi~g effectively to the provision of credit in the rural sector.