Government encouraging start-ups in agriculture for enhancing income of farmers; invest INR 11.85 Cr, says Tomar

Agriculture ministry is funding start-ups under the innovation and agripreneurship component of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

NEW DELHI, 4 August 2020: The Indian government accords very high priority to the agriculture sector. In order to contribute directly and indirectly to enhancing the income of farmers by providing opportunities to them and to provide employment to youth, start-ups are being encouraged, Indian agriculture and farmers' welfare minister Narendra Singh Tomar said.

He said that new technology in the field of agriculture and allied sectors through start-ups and agripreneurship should be promoted. Therefore, under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, the innovation and agripreneurship component has been promoted.

For the year 2020-21, in the first phase, 112 startups in the area of agro processing, food technology and value addition will be funded for  a sum of INR 11.85 crore which will contribute to enhancing the income of farmers. This fund will be released in installments, the minister added.

Tomar stated that earlier in the month while reviewing the progress of agriculture research, extension and education in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that start-ups and agri-enterpreneurs need to be promoted to ensure innovation and use of technology in agriculture and allied sectors.

He had highlighted the need to leverage information technology to provide information on demand to the farmers and exhorted that traditional knowledge of Indian communities should be coupled with technology and skill sets of youth and agriculture graduates to translate the full potential of Indian agriculture in transforming rural areas.

The minister also directed that hackathons may be organized twice a year to solve identified problems and meet design needs for tools and equipment that can reduce drudgery in farming activity.

Tomar also stressed on the need to make agriculture competitive, provide handholding to agriculture-based activities and adopt new technology at the earliest. Emphasizing on increasing private investment in the field of agriculture, Tomar has drawn attention to the need for value addition and start-ups.  His vision is to attract youth to agriculture and rejuvenate the sector.

Initiatives to boost agriculture and allied activities under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna

In keeping with these initiatives of the government of India to boost agriculture and allied activities and give an impetus to the rural economy, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) which aims at strengthening infrastructure in agriculture and allied areas, has been revamped.

Under the revamped scheme, a component Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development programme has been launched in order to promote innovation and agripreneurship & startups by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem. DAC&FW has selected 5 Knowledge Partners (KPs) as Centres of Excellence and 24 RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) from across the country after a nation-wide advertisement and a rigorous selection process.

112 Startups selected during 2020-21

112 Startups selected by different knowledge partners and agribusiness incubators in the area of Agro-processing, Food Technology and Value addition will be funded in the first phase for a sum of INR 11.85 crore. This fund will be released in installments.

These start-ups were trained for two months at 29 agribusiness incubation centres (KPs & RABIs) spread across India. These start-ups will lead to employment to youth. Besides, they, directly and indirectly, will contribute to enhancing the income of farmers by providing opportunities to them. 

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