The government will set up an Agricultural Accelerated Fund (AAF) to encourage agri-startup units by young entrepreneurs in rural areas.
The fund will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. It will also bring in modern technologies to transform agricultural practices, and increase productivity and profitability.
Gaurav VK Singhvi, Co-Founder, We Founder Circle, said, "The announcement of the Agri Accelerator Fund by the government will not only encourage entrepreneurs but also strengthen the agri supply chain which has been struggling for way too long. We have been bullish and investing in Agri startups and have 3 companies in our portfolio, I believe this initiative by the government will see a boost across the entire value chain in the agriculture industry and we definitely see a lot of startups emerging and potentially becoming unicorns from the Agri startup community."
In the Budget, the finance minister also announced a digital public infrastructure, which will be built as an open source, will be created for agriculture with an aim of providing inclusive, farmer-centric solutions.
The digital infra will enable farmer-centric solutions such as crop planning and health, improved access to farm inputs, credit and insurance, help for crop estimation, market intelligence and support for growth of agri-tech industry and startups.
The digital infrastructure is dubbed as —Kisan Digital Public Infrastructure Platform, which will enable inclusive farmer-centric solutions through relevant information services for crop planning and help improve access to farm input, credit, and insurance, help for crop estimation, market intelligence and support for the growth of agritech industry and startups.
With this Digital Infra, farmers do not have to download any application nor have to pay any charge, but a public utility will be created, so that all the information required by the farmers to perform better in the agriculture sector is made available on the digital public infrastructure platform.
For example, farmers will be given access to information on the best alternative seed varieties, suppliers, soil testing, responsible farming practices and nutrient use in agriculture, etc. This information will be available for free, making it easier for farmers to reduce their losses and improve their farming practices.
The government has also started Digital Agriculture Mission to connect farmers with technology and increase their income. Minister of State for Power and Industry, Prahlad Singh Patel called the mission a "miracle". The aim of this initiative is to help the farmers directly without the involvement of middlemen.
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