Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Scheme
Recently, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Scheme was launched in the year 2020 to deal with the COVID crisis.
- The objective of the scheme is to finance viable projects related to post-harvest management infrastructure, and community farm assets. The duration of this scheme is 10 years.
- Under this scheme, Rs 1 lakh crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions in the form of loans with interest subvention of 3 per cent per annum, and credit guarantee coverage for loans up to Rs 2 crore.
Amendments made by the government:- Now the eligibility has been extended to State Agencies/Agriculture Produce Market Societies (APMCs), National and State Cooperative Federations, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOS) and Self Help Groups (SHGs).
The interest subvention scheme and loan guarantee will be extended for each project to a maximum of 25 projects, provided they are located at different locations. The total duration of the scheme has been extended to 13 years (up to 2032-33).
Significance:
APMCs can strengthen their infrastructure like cold storage, processing plants etc. At the same time, this also removes the doubts of farmers that APMCs will be abolished with the implementation of three agricultural laws. SHGs and FPOs will bring in more investments, to ensure that the benefits reach the small and marginal farmers.
Source – The Hindu
