The Centre is considering to allow State-level agencies like Hafed, Markfed to avail credit from Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) directly to boost more projects. Currently, such agencies are allowed credit from AIF only on public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.

The issue was raised by officials of Haryana during their interaction with Union Agriculture Ministry earlier this month, sources said, adding the State was assured that the demand would be considered and if found feasible necessary changes would be made.

The Ministry may need to take cabinet approval for the change, like the way it was done last time when Agriculture Market Produce Committees (APMCs) were allowed to avail the credit, the sources said.

As many as 303 projects worth ₹300 crore in Haryana are likely to be on board under AIF, officials said. The State has been allocated ₹3,900 crore under AIF.

Projects sanctioned

The Centre has so far sanctioned 8,658 projects worth ₹6,205 crore across the country of which ₹2,256 crore (36 per cent) have been disbursed, official data show.

Nearly half of these applicants are yet to get the disbursal due to several factors including not starting the construction, officials said.

During his interaction with chief ministers and State agriculture ministers in September, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had asked them to ensure utilisation of AIF funds so that the benefits can percolate to the small and marginal farmers who lack warehousing and cold storage facilities at the farmgate.

The Centre had launched the ₹1-lakh crore AIF last year to boost setting up warehouses, grading, sorting and other infrastructure in the country by providing three per cent interest subvention for credit up to ₹2 crore.

However, there has been a good demand from existing entrepreneurs to expand their current capacities, sources said.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW