The agriculture ministry has been funding startups in the agriculture and allied sectors under central scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). Under this scheme, the government has funded 12 startups already with an amount of Rs 11.85 crore.
On August 6, the ministry has made an announcement that it is planning to invest nearly 36.71 Cr in 346 agritech startups and startup working in allied sectors like agro-processing, artificial intelligence, digital agriculture, farm mechanisation, waste to wealth, dairy, fisheries, among others. The selected start-ups were trained for two months at 29 agribusiness incubation centres (KPs & RABIs) spread across India. R-ABI is RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators.
"In addition to 112 startups already funded for a sum of Rs 11.85 crore, 234 startups in the agriculture and allied sectors will be funded for a sum of Rs 24.85 crore," the ministry said in a statement.
The investment will be a part of a ‘component, innovation and agri-entrepreneurship development programme’ under RKVY to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in this domain by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem. The programme will offer 2-months-long “agri-preneurship orientation” with a monthly stipend of 10,000, along with mentorship on financial, technical, intellectual property (IP) related issues and more.