Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that farmers would be issued Benazir Hari Cards benefiting from various government programmes to consolidate Hari’s information for transparent and efficient implementation of interventions.
This he said while presiding over a meeting of the agriculture department to firm up proposals for the issuance of Benazir Hari Card to growers on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Minister Agriculture Mohammad Bux Mahar, Secretary Agriculture Rafiq Buriro, Secretary Finance Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary CM Raheem Shaikh and others.
Shah said that his party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had directed him to launch the Benazir Hari Card so that growers could be supported for the development of agriculture which was the backbone of the national economy. “Through the card, the farmers would be able to take benefit from various government schemes which would be announced from time to time,” he said.
The CM was told that the Sindh Cabinet sub-Committee on Hari Card Card on 2nd April 2024 under the Minister of Agriculture. The Minister for Irrigation and Food and Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) were members of the committee while the secretary of agriculture (Secretary of Committee) reviewed and finalised the mechanism of the “Benazir Hari Card” and submitted detailed recommendations before the Cabinet.
The committee recommended the registration of farmers and engaging Sindh Bank and Commercial Bank through direct contracting. Eligibility: All agricultural landholders would be eligible regardless of their landholding size. The process can commence by issuing cards to over 150,000 verified farmers under the Wheat Seed Cash Reimbursement Program. The farmers have valid documents such as Form -VII verified by the revenue department.
Only one owner can register for jointly owned land, provided they produce a No Objection Affidavit from the other joint owners or heirs, as verified by NADRA and the concerned Mukhtiarkar.
Farmers with multiple landholdings would be eligible for one Card with cumulative landholding. Agriculture Department to engage top-notch human resource technology firms to develop required Software, Apps and other digital infrastructure through the Sindh Water Agriculture Transformation Project (SWAT) by taking the World Bank on board.
The chief minister said that a comprehensive Benazir Hari Card system would be developed, outlining specific roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders – including departments of Revenue and Agriculture, Banks, and Beneficiaries and establishing a streamlined registration process.
Mr Shah said that a robust, IT-based system with reliable backup support would facilitate Benazir Hari Card registration, clearly defining roles and responsibilities at each stage of the process. He added that the Revenue Dept would upload data into the Agriculture dept’s web/app, including required documents.
The CM directed the Agriculture Dept to reach out to landholders to collect information such as CNIC, address and Other landholdings. He said that the agriculture dept and BoR officials would jointly visit farms, Deh by Deh, to Geo-tag locations, and verify details entered in the app. The Assistant Commissioner/Deputy Director would authenticate farmer registration data and conduct random checks on entries from each Deh in their jurisdiction.
Mr Shah said that regular database reviews by the department would be done to identify missing data, errors, and anomalies. He directed the Administrative dept would rectify issues before card issuance. “Verified landholder data will be sent to a partner Bank for NADRA verification and Issuance of Benazir Hari Card,” he said and added that the bank will deliver cards to the Agriculture Department (Taluka level) and the department would hand over cards to farmers.
The CM decided that the Benazir Hari Card functionality would be versatile allowing farmers to make banking transactions (deposits, withdrawals, balance checks, transfers) and subsidy access through ATMs.
