Govt released Rs 122 crore to over 1,700 agri-startups: Minister

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The government has released Rs 122.50 crore to over 1,700 agri-startups in the last five years under the Innovation and AgriEntrepreneurship Development programme, Parliament was informed. The programme, implemented in 2018-19 under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), aims to promote innovation and agri-entrepreneurship, by providing financial and technical support for nurturing startups. A financial assistance of Rs 122.50 crore has been released to 1,708 agri startups from 2019-20 to 2023-24. The funds were released through five Knowledge Partners (KPs) and 24 RKVY Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) that provide training and incubate startups for implementation of this programme, Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Choudhary said in his written reply to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.During 2023-24, about Rs 147.25 crore was released to 532 startups. The minister said that under the programme, financial support of up to Rs 5 lakh is provided at the idea stage and up to Rs 25 lakh at the seed stage to startups in agriculture and allied sectors to launch their products, services, business platforms, etc and to facilitate in scaling up. In July this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare in collaboration with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) also launched a Rs 750 crore 'Agri Sure' fund for startups to promote investment in innovative, technology-driven and high-impact activities in agriculture and rural enterprises.

The fund announced by NABVentures, a subsidiary of NABARD has an initial corpus of Rs 750 crore with 250 crore each from NABARD and the Ministry of Agriculture, and 250 crore from other institutions. The fund is structured to support approximately 85 agri startups with investment sizes of up to Rs 25 crore each by the end of its term. The fund will provide support through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic and debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) as well as direct equity support to startups. The fund is structured to support approximately 85 agri start-ups with investment sizes of up to Rs 25 crore each by the end of its term. The fund will provide support through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic and debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) as well as direct equity support to start-ups. Agri-Sure's focus areas include promoting innovative, technology-driven initiatives in agriculture, enhancing the farm produce value chain, creating new rural ecosystem linkages and infrastructure, generating employment and supporting Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs). Additionally, the fund aims to encourage entrepreneurship through IT-based solutions and machinery rental services for farmers, driving sustainable growth and development in the agricultural sector.