The minister added that in order to address the existing infrastructure gaps and mobilize investment in agriculture infrastructure, the Agri Infra Fund was launched under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package.
The Union Government’s Central Sector Scheme (CSS) for ‘Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)’ has a total budgetary outlay of Rs.6,865 crores, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ramnath Thakur said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The minister said that the formation and promotion of FPOs are to be done through implementing agencies (IAs), which further engage cluster based business organizations (CBBOs) to form and provide professional handholding support to FPOs for a period of five years.
He added that FPOs get a financial assistance upto Rs 18.00 lakh per FPO for a period of three years. In addition to this, provision has been made for matching equity grant upto Rs. 2,000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of Rs. 15.00 lakh per FPO and a credit guarantee facility up to Rs. 2 crore of project loan per FPO from eligible lending institution to ensure institutional credit accessibility to FPOs. Suitable provisions have been made for training and skill development of FPOs.
FPOs are onboarded on National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform which facilitates online trading of their agricultural commodities through transparent price discovery method to enable FPOs to realize better remunerative prices for their produce.
The minister added that in order to address the existing infrastructure gaps and mobilize investment in agriculture infrastructure, the Agri Infra Fund was launched under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package was introduced with a vision to transform the agriculture infrastructure landscape of the country. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is a medium – long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and credit guarantee support. The Fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore under the scheme will be disbursed until FY2025-26 and the support under the scheme will be provided till FY2032-33.
Eligible beneficiaries include Farmers, Agri-entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producers Organizations(FPOs), Self Help Group (SHG), Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public Private Partnership Projects, State Agencies, Agricultural Produce Market Committees (Mandis), National & State Federations of Cooperatives, Federations of FPOs (Farmer Produce Organizations) and Federations of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
Ramnath Thakur also said that a National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) launched in 2020 as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is now approved for further continuation from 2023-24 to 2025-26 with total outlay of Rs. 370 crores.
The minister also mentioned the various government implemented schemes and programmes for the welfare of farmers in the country. Prominently, he mentioned the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN), Pradhan Kisan Mantri Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM), and the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
