 "ADB to provide $100 mn loan for agribusiness development in Maharashtra")
The Asian Development Bank will provide a USD 100 million (around Rs 749 crore) loan to promote agribusiness network to boost farm incomes and reduce food losses in Maharashtra.
ADB will also provide a USD 500,000 technical assistance (TA) grant from its Technical Assistance Special Fund and USD 2 million from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction on a grant basis to improve market linkages for FPOs.
The agreement for the Maharashtra Agribusiness Network (MAGNET) project was signed between Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Finance for Government of India, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission.
The ADB loan will help provide financing opportunities for farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and value chain operators (VCOs) through matching grants and financial intermediation loans to support 300 subprojects, the finance ministry said in a release.
The project will upgrade 16 existing post-harvest facilities and construct 3 new ones to provide individual farmers and FPOs clean, accessible, and sustainable crop storage and processing facilities.
It will also build the capacity of FPOs and VCOs on value chain acceleration and post-harvest handling and management, especially those owned and led by women. The project is expected to benefit 200,000 farmers, the release said.
Mishra stated that the project supports agribusiness development in Maharashtra with holistic support to on-farm improvement in productivity, upgradation of post-harvest facilities, and establishing efficient marketing structures to benefit horticulture producers.
More From This Section
The project will help small and marginal farmers in Maharashtra improve their post-harvest and marketing capacity, reduce food losses, and increase incomes through access to finance, capacity building, and horticulture value chain infrastructure development, said Konishi.
The TA will establish crop-based centers of excellence networks, promote innovative technologies in agribusiness and agriculture value chains, and support capacity building, including the asset and financial management capabilities of the MAGNET society and the Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board.