Government Allocates Rs 122 Crore to More Than 1,700 Agricultural Startups: Minister

New Delhi, Dec 11 (NationPress) The government has allocated Rs 122.50 crore to over 1,700 agricultural startups over the past five years as part of the Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development programme, as reported in Parliament.

This initiative, launched in 2018-19 under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), is designed to foster innovation and agri-entrepreneurship by offering both financial and technical assistance to support startups.

A total financial assistance of Rs 122.50 crore has been disbursed to 1,708 agri startups from 2019-20 to 2023-24. The funds were distributed through five Knowledge Partners (KPs) and 24 RKVY Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs), which provide training and incubation services for startups as part of this initiative, stated Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Choudhary in his written response to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

In the fiscal year 2023-24, approximately Rs 147.25 crore was allocated to 532 startups.

The minister explained that the programme offers financial assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh at the idea stage and up to Rs 25 lakh at the seed stage for startups in agriculture and related sectors to launch their products, services, and business platforms, facilitating their growth.

This July, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, in collaboration with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), introduced a Rs 750 crore 'Agri Sure' fund aimed at stimulating investment in innovative, technology-driven, and high-impact projects in agriculture and rural enterprises.

The fund, announced by NABVentures, a subsidiary of NABARD, has an initial corpus of Rs 750 crore, which includes Rs 250 crore each from NABARD and the Ministry of Agriculture, along with Rs 250 crore from other organizations.

This fund is designed to back approximately 85 agri startups with investments of up to Rs 25 crore each by the conclusion of its term. Support will be provided through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic, and debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), as well as direct equity investments to startups.

Agri-Sure's focus areas include promoting innovative, technology-driven initiatives in agriculture, enhancing the value chain of farm produce, developing new rural ecosystem linkages and infrastructure, generating employment, and supporting Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs). Furthermore, the fund aims to foster entrepreneurship through IT-based solutions and machinery rental services for farmers, promoting sustainable growth and development in the agricultural sector.