The Ministry of Agriculture under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana will fund 112 startups for the first phase in FY2020-21 in the area of agro processing, food technology and value addition. 

 

The total fund amount is Rs. 11.86 crore which will contribute to enhancing the income of farmers and will be released in installments. 

 

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar stated that as emphasised by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, new technology in the field of agriculture and allied sectors through startups and agripreneurship should be promoted. 

 

The minister 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 startups.  

 

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 nationwide advertisement and a rigorous selection process.

 

112 startups selected by different knowledge partners and agribusiness incubators will be funded. These startups were trained for two months at 29 agribusiness incubation centres (KPs & RABIs) spread across India. These startups will lead to employment for youth.