India is an agriculturally rich country. Nearly 70% of rural households’ income and survival depend on agriculture, which plays a vital role in the economy as well. It is well known that agriculture, fisheries, and forestry account for a significant part of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Despite agriculture being such an integral part of the country, the farmers suffer a lot. This happens because they are not provided with enough financial, social, or skill-wise support, which causes them to suffer losses during work. Bad crop yields, incessant rains, and wild animals are just a few reasons they struggle to make ends meet. This is a very disheartening scenario.
However, India’s agricultural landscape has undergone several facets of evolution. Now, our country has witnessed the establishment of many institutions created to enhance productivity, sustainability, and innovation in agriculture. These institutions provide financial support, research, training, and infrastructure development.
Therefore, this article introduces some of the institutions helping our farmers maintain the richness of our country by providing them with the necessary assistance.
National Agriculture Infra Financing Facility (NAIFF)
Launch
The NAIFF was launched by the central government in 2020.
Objective
The facility aims to cover different stakeholders in the agriculture eco-system, and they are:
- Farmers and other farmer organisations: The facility will allow for improved marketing infrastructure, increasing farmers’ overall incomes.
- Government: The government aims to provide financial support to this field through incentives, credit guarantees, and interest subventions and is also willing to increase the private sector’s investment.
- Agri entrepreneurs and startups: With the funding source fixed now, entrepreneurs can focus on innovation and incorporating modern technologies.
- Banking Ecosystem: Lending institutions can make loans with less risk through schemes like credit guarantees, incentives, and interest subventions.
- Consumers: Consumers at the end of the agricultural system can benefit directly as building different facilities will ultimately lead to lower costs and better-quality produce reaching the markets.
Features
- The facility has been built with a total budget of Rs. 1 lakh crore.
- The facility will converge with all central or state government schemes.
- The credit guarantee will be available for Rs. 2 crore loans.
- There are multiple financial institutions under this scheme, including commercial banks, cooperative banks, regional rural banks (RRB), small finance banks, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCCDC), and non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs).
- The moratorium for repayment can vary between a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 2 years.
- The disbursement of loans will be completed in six years from 2020-21.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
Launch
NABARD was established in 1982 by the parliament through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act of 1981.
Objective
- The main focus is to support rural development at all levels.
- The bank is aiming to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture along with rural development.
- This will be facilitated through financial and non-financial interventions, innovation, technology, and institutional development to secure prosperity.
- It aims to be the ‘Development Bank’ of the nation to foster rural prosperity.
- It provides credit for supporting agriculture, small-scale, cottage and village industries, and handloom industries established in rural areas.
Support
- It provides financial support for different infrastructural projects in rural areas.
- It plays a financial, developmental, and supervisory role in rural areas.
- It provides refinancing support, prepares district-level credit plans, and supervises cooperative banks and regional rural banks to enable them to help with rural development.
- It provided refinance, loans, and advances repayable on demand or expiring a fixed period of not more than 12 months.
- It offers short-term loans to farmers for crop production. In the year 2022–23, it gave cooperative banks and RRBs Rs. 64,224 crore for seasonal agricultural operations, Rs. 65,564 crore for additional seasonal agricultural operations, and Rs. 29,077 crore for other seasonal agricultural operations.
- It also provides long-term loans for farm and non-farm activities for 18 months to more than 5 years. For this purpose, it disbursed Rs. 1,07,015 crore to financial institutions.
- The Reserve Bank of India set up the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in 1995-96 to support certain categories of infrastructure projects.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Launch
It was established on July 16th, 1929, as a registered society. It was earlier known as the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research.
Objective
- To intensify and promote agricultural research, education, and extension activities for productivity enhancement and diversity in Indian agriculture.
- To plan, undertake, aid, promote and coordinate education research and its application in agriculture and other allied fields.
- To promote transfer of technology programmes.
- To identify the problems associated with agriculture in rural areas.
- To provide information on agriculture, animal husbandry, and other allied sciences through publications and other information systems.
Support
- It provides financial support to strengthen higher agricultural education.
- It is at the forefront of agricultural research in India and conducts extensive research across different domains. The information is then disseminated to the masses.
- It provides farmers with training and information on modern farming techniques. For this purpose, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) was established.
- It supports and helps develop the skills of various stakeholders, including farmers, agricultural scientists, and others.
Rural Business Incubation Centers
Launch
NABARD launched the Rural Business Incubation Centres in 2018-18.
Objective
- To create a supportive atmosphere for agri-entrepreneurs and rural startups while ensuring their growth through sustainability.
- It nurtures innovative ideas and helps those ideas transform into business models.
- It also focuses on empowering rural youth by providing adequate resources for establishing their businesses.
Support
- They offer comprehensive support to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the development of rural businesses.
- The support included professional mentoring, training for skill development, access to funds, and, last but not least, providing a link to establish themselves in the market.
- They also provide services for business development, technical assistance, and other necessary resources in the fields of marketing, finance, logistics, etc.
- They help connect entrepreneurs with industry experts and people willing to invest. This ensures a moral boost for their efforts.
Therefore, these are some of the institutions that play a critical role in providing the necessary support to our agricultural systems. These institutions provide financial assistance, research, and skill development to the necessary stakeholders, thus ensuring that they remain up-to-date with modern techniques and practices. It is necessary to support our farmers and agricultural ecosystems because this will ensure the flourishing of these systems and prosperity in our nation’s economy.
