Startups in Agriculture Sector

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) in 2018-19 with objective 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 enhancing 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 advise on smooth and efficient execution of this programme in various States.  List of these KPs and R-ABIs is enclosed (Annexure).

Under this programme, for idea/pre-seed stage, a selected startup shall be eligible for a maximum financial assistance of Rs. five lakh.  For seed stage, a selected startup shall be eligible for a 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 1^st installment. These start-ups were trained for two months at various agribusiness incubation centres (i.e KPs & RABIs) spread across the country. 

This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha on 20.09.2020.

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APS/SG/RC

Annexure

List of Knowledge Partners (KPs) and RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs)

Knowledge Partners (KPs):

1. National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad.
2. National Institute of Agricultural Marketing(NIAM) Jaipur.
3. Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Pusa, New Delhi.
4. University of Agriculture Science , Dharwad, Karnataka.
5. Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat, Assam.

RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs)

1. Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Hisar, Haryana
2. CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh
3. IIT-BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 
4. Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
5. ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
6. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab
7. Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh
8. Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu
9. IIM, Kashipur, Uttarakhand
10. Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala
11. ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad, Telangana  
12. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
13. Agri innovation and entrepreneurship cell, ANGRAU, Andhra Pradesh
14. National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha
15. S K N Agriculture University, Jobner, Rajasthan
16. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal  
17. Bihar Agricultural University, Bhagalpur, Bihar
18. Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat
19. ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra
20. Dr.Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra 
21. National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (NIVEDI), Bengaluru, Karnataka
22. College of Fisheries, Lembucherra, Tripura
23. Department of Veterinary Medicine College of Veterinary Sciences &Animal Husbandry, Aizawl, Mizoram
24. College of Horticulture & Forestry, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh

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