Agriculture Infrastructure Fund – Government Of India

About the Scheme

Agriculture infrastructure plays a role important to improving a farm productivity and strengthening that overall agriculture sector. And Better infrastructure, particularly after harvesting, enables farmers to store, process and market their produce more effectively. It also creates the opportunities for a value addition, to reduces a post-harvest losses and can help to farmers obtain better returns.

The Recognising the importance of such infrastructure, the Government of India announced the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) on 15 May 2020, with a financing of ₹1 lakh crore. The Scheme was introduced to support the creation of agricultural infrastructure at the farm gate. And the Eligible projects can include infrastructure developed by Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), agricultural enterprises, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Agricultural entrepreneurs, Start-ups and other eligible entities.

Credit Guarantee & Interest Subvention

Eligible borrowers can receive credit guarantee coverage for loans of up to ₹2 crore under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) framework. The Government bears the applicable guarantee fee. For FPOs, credit guarantee support may also be accessed through the facility established under the FPO promotion initiative.

Loans provided under the AIF financing facility are eligible for an interest subvention of 3% per year on loans up to ₹2 crore. This benefit can be provided for a maximum period of seven years. Where a loan exceeds ₹2 crore, the interest subvention remains applicable only to the eligible portion up to ₹2 crore.

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund – Key Details

Objectives Of the Agricultural Infrastructure

• Improve Post-harvest Management : To Support the Creation of Facilities that help farmers safely store, handle, process and manage their harvesting.
  
  
• Reduce Post-harvest losses : Encourage better storage and handling systems to minimise damage and wastage of agricultural produce.
  
  
• Promote value addition : Support infrastructure that enables processing, grading, packaging and other activities that can increase the value of farm products.
  
  

Who Can apply for the Financing Facility

Eligible Applicant

• Individual Farmers
  
  
• Farmer Producer Organisation
  
  
• Central Sponsors public-private Partnership Project
  
  
• Self – Help Groups
  
  
• Joint Liability Groups
  
  
• Primary Agricultural Credit Society
  
  
• Agricultural entrepreneur and Start-ups
  
  
• Cooperative and federation
  
  
• Central or State agencies
  
  
• Start-Up
  
  
• Multipurpose Cooperative Society
  
  
• National Federation of Cooperatives
  

Eligible Project under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

1. Post-Harvest Infrastructure :

02. Farming & Agriculture Assets :

Qualification & Eligibility for Agriculture Infrastructure

• Farmer and Agricultural Procedures
  
  
• Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs)
  
  
• Primary agricultural Credit Society (PACs)
  
  
• Start-ups working in the agriculture sector
  
  
• Self-Help Groups (SHG)
  
  
• Cooperative and eligible Organisation
  
  
• Agriculture Marketing Produce Commitee
  
  
• Other eligible entities as specified under AIF guidelines
  
  
  

Documents Required for Agriculture Infrastructure

• Aadhaar Card / Identity Proof
  
  
• PAN Card
  
  
• Address Proof
  
  
• Bank Account Details and Cancelled Cheque
  
  
• Land Ownership or lease Document, Wherever Applicable
  
  
• Project report with details of the Proposed infrastructure
  
  
• Project costs estimate and Financial Plan
  
  
• Business Registration Documents, if Applicable
  
  
• Organisaiton registration document for FPOs, PACs, SHGs, or Cooperatives
  
  
• Relevant license, approval permission required for the purpose project
  
  
• Any Additional Documents requested by the lending institutions

Application Process

Step 1 : Register Online – Register an applicant on the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund online portal.

Step 2 : Prepare the Project Report – Prepare and upload the Detailed Project Report (DPR) along with the required documents.

Step 3 : Submit Application – Submit the completed application through the AIF portal.

Step 4 : Application Verification – The AIF team verifies the proposal and forwards it to the selected lending institution.

Step 5 : Bank Appraisal – The bank examines the project, financial details and eligibility.

Step 6 : Loan Sanction – After successful appraisal, the bank sanctions the eligible loan.

Step 7 : Loan Disbursement – The sanctioned amount is released according to the approved project schedule.

Step 8 : Interest Subvention – The bank claims the applicable interest-subvention benefit through the AIF system.

Application Link in Below