Million-rupee investments backed by agricultural infrastructure fund
Hey there! Let's dive into how the Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF) is revolutionizing India's agricultural sector. Launched in 2020 as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, this innovative scheme boasts a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore (about USD 13 billion) aimed at providing financial backing for modern agricultural infrastructure.
The AIF has been instrumental in over 1,09,426 projects since its inception, with a significant amount mobilized from private entities. As of now, the disbursement under AIF is projected to be around ₹90,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal.
The primary goal of AIF? To create farm gate storage and logistics infrastructure that allows farmers to store and preserve their produce properly and sell them in the market at better prices. This results in reduced post-harvest losses and fewer intermediaries involved.
To bridge the existing gaps in post-harvest management infrastructure, the AIF plans to disburse ₹1 lakh crore through banks and financial institutions by the end of 2025-26. The fund offers loans of up to ₹2 crore, with a maximum repayment period of seven years. It also offers a 3% interest subvention, with a cap on the rate of investment.
Breaking down the numbers, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh account for a significant share of the projects sanctioned under AIF. The ministry projects annual savings from post-harvest losses of 1.86 million tonnes and 0.34 million tonnes of horticultural crops following the implementation of the fund.
While the first two years under the fund are considered the gestation period, improvements in marketing infrastructure and logistics at the farm gate are expected to reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmers' remuneration. In addition, AIF supports collaboration between entrepreneurs and farmers for greater impact, fostering rural industrialization and creating employment opportunities in processed agricultural goods markets.
Although up-to-date public progress reports with specific details on aggregate storage capacity expansion, the number of cold chain units, or logistics improvements attributable directly to AIF are limited, there is no denying that the initiative is making a difference in addressing critical gaps in farm-gate storage, cold chains, and logistics. Keep an eye on this space for more updates! 🚀🌽🥦🐄🍚🥕🔥
The Agri Infrastructure Fund is playing a significant role in enhancing India's agricultural sector by providing financial backing for modern farming infrastructure, with a targeted corpus of ₹1 lakh crore and loans of up to ₹2 crore offered to farmers and entrepreneurs. This investment aims to reduce post-harvest losses, involve fewer intermediaries, and promote rural industrialization through collaboration. By the end of 2025-26, the AIF plans to disburse ₹1 lakh crore. Despite limited public progress reports, the impact of the fund on farm-gate storage, cold chains, and logistics is noticeable, contributing to employment opportunities in the processed agricultural goods market.
