Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) has launched a new component called “Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development” under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY-RAFTAAR).
The main objective is to promote innovation and agripreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem. Start-ups are being encouraged in order to contribute directly and indirectly to enhance the income of farmers by providing opportunities to them and to provide employment to youth.
In this connection, five Knowledge Partners (KPs) and twenty-four Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) have been appointed by DAC &FW to advice on the smooth and efficient execution of this programme in various States.
Under this programme, for the idea/pre-seed stage, a selected startup shall be eligible for maximum financial assistance of Rs. five lakh. For the seed stage, a selected startup shall be eligible for maximum financial assistance of Rs. Twenty-five lakh.
346 startups in the agriculture and allied sectors are selected for funding for a sum of Rs. 36.72 crore in installments and Rs.16.01 crore has been released as 1st installment. These start-ups were trained for two months at various agribusiness incubation centres (i.e KPs & RABIs) spread across the country.
