Centre approves expansion of Agricultural Infrastructure Fund scheme

The government on Wednesday expanded the scope of Rs 1 lakh crore-Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme to make it more attractive, as part of its objective to strengthen farm-related infrastructure facilities in the country.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the "progressive expansion in central sector scheme of financing facility under the AIF to make it more attractive, impactful and inclusive", an official statement said.

In a significant move to enhance and strengthen the agricultural infrastructure in the country and support the farming community, the government has announced a series of measures to expand the scope of the AIF scheme.

"These initiatives aim at expanding the scope of eligible projects and integrate additional supportive measures to foster a robust agricultural infrastructure ecosystem," it added.

The government has allowed all eligible beneficiaries of the scheme for creation of infrastructure covered under 'viable projects for building community farming assets'.

This move is expected to facilitate the development of viable projects that will enhance community farming capabilities, thereby improving productivity and sustainability in the sector, it added.

The Centre has decided to include integrated primary secondary processing projects in the list of eligible activities under the AIF. However standalone secondary projects would not be eligible and would be covered under schemes launched by the food processing ministry.

The government has also allowed the convergence of Component-A of PM-KUSUM with AIF for farmers/group of farmers/farmer producer organizations/ cooperatives/ panchayats.

The alignment of these initiatives aims to promote sustainable clean energy solutions alongside the development of agricultural infrastructure.

In addition to CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises), the government has proposed to extend AIF credit guarantee coverage of FPOs through the NABSanrakshan Trustee Company Pvt Ltd also.

This expansion of credit guarantee options is intended to enhance the financial security and creditworthiness of FPOs, thereby encouraging more investments in agricultural infrastructure projects, the statement said.

Since its launch by the Prime Minister in 2020, the AIF scheme has been instrumental in supporting creation of 6,623 warehouses, 688 cold stores and 21 silos projects, resulting in additional storage capacity of about 500 lakh tonnes in the country.

This includes 465 lakh tonnes of dry storage and 35 lakh tonnes of cold storage capacity.

With this additional storage capacity 18.6 lakh tonnes of food grains and 3.44 lakh tonnes of horticulture produce can be saved annually.

"Rs 47,575 crore has been sanctioned for 74,508 projects under AIF till date. These sanctioned projects have mobilized an investment of Rs 78,596 crore in the agriculture sector, out of which Rs 78,433 crore has been mobilised from private entities," the statement said.

In addition, infrastructure projects sanctioned under AIF have helped in generating more than 8.19 lakh rural employment opportunities in the agriculture sector.

"The expansion in the scope of the AIF scheme is poised to further drive growth, improve productivity, enhance farm incomes and contribute to the overall sustainability of agriculture in the country," the statement said.

These measures also underscore the government's commitment to strengthening the agricultural sector through holistic development of farm infrastructure in the country, it added.