Lok Sabha Question No. 97 (STARRED), answered on 2022-02-08
Subject: Start-ups in Agri-Sector
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Anurag Sharma, Rebati Tripura

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 97

TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 th  FEBRUARY, 2022

## START-UPS IN AGRI-SECTOR

- *97.  SHRI ANURAG SHARMA: SHRI REBATI TRIPURA:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to encourage Start-ups in Agri-sector to innovate, reduce wastage, increase agri-produce and to enhance soil fertility in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government has taken note of various grass-root innovations related to agricultural practices that could reduce costs and increase agricultural production and if so, the details thereof; and the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  Start-ups  in  Agri-sector  in  the

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

( SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) to (d):       A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
- (d) country?

## STATEMENT  IN  RESPECT  OF  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO. 97 FOR 08.02.2022 REGARDING START-UPS IN AGRI-SECTOR.

(a)  (b)  &  (d):        This  Ministry  has  launched  a  component  called  'Innovation  and  AgriEntrepreneurship Development' under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY-RAFTAAR) in 2018-19  with  an  objective  to  promote  innovation  and  agri-entrepreneurship  by  providing financial  support  and  nurturing  an  incubation  ecosystem  to  innovate,  reduce  wastage, increase  agri-produce  to  enhance  soil  fertility  in  the  country  etc.  In  this  connection,  this Ministry has appointed five  Knowledge Partners (KPs) as Centre of Excellence and twenty four  RKVY-RAFTAAR  Agribusiness  Incubators  (R-ABIs)  from  across  the  country  for implementation of this programme. List of KPs and R-ABIs is enclosed at Annexure-I.

Besides,  the  Indian  Council  of  Agriculture  Research  (ICAR)  has  been  supporting Agri-based  startups  under the  project called  National  Agriculture  Innovation  Fund (NAIF) initiated in  year  2016-2017.  It  has  two  components  viz.  I.  Innovation  Fund;  II.  Incubation Fund and National Coordinating Unit (NCU).

Component I :  10 Zonal Technology Management Units  and 89 Institute Technology Management  Units  (ITMUs)  established  in  99  ICAR  institutes  provide  a  single-window mechanism  to  manage  innovations,  showcase  intellectual  assets,  and  pursue  matters related to intellectual property (IP) management and transfer/commercialization of technologies in these institutes.

Component II : Agri-business Incubator Centres (ABICs) are set up to speed up the delivery of the new technologies to stake holders. The ABICs are the nodal point to provide the desired link for Agriculture Research &Development ( R&D ) Institutions for incubation/ commercialization  of  the  validated  technologies.  So  far,  50  Agri-Business  Incubation Centers  have been  established  and  are  operational  in  the  ICAR  network  under  the  NAIF scheme. List of ABICs under ICAR is at Annex-II

(c):    Under Agri-entrepreneurship programme, a number of start-ups have been supported with  various  grass-root  innovations  in  agricultural  practices  that  could  reduce  costs  and increase  agricultural  production.    Some  of  these  startups  are  working  in  areas  such  as utilization of waste from paddy crop residue, fruits and vegetable processing on the farm to reduce wastage, innovative seed drill, multi purpose electric hand equipment for agriculture, high  value  mushroom  production  from  farm  wastes  ,  ecofriendly  soil  moisture  enhancer, organic farming & services etc.

## Annexure-I

## List  of  Knowledge  Partners  (KPs)  and  RKVY-RAFTAAR  Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs)

## Knowledge Partners (KPs):

- 1)  National  Institute  of  Agricultural  Extension  Management  (MANAGE), Hyderabad.
- 2)  National Institute of Agricultural Marketing(NIAM) Jaipur.
- 3)  Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Pusa, New Delhi.
- 4)  University of Agriculture Science , Dharwad, Karnataka.
- 5)  Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat, Assam.

## RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs)

- 1)  Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Hisar, Haryana
- 2)  CSK  Himachal  Pradesh  Krishi  Vishvavidyalaya,  Palampur,  Himachal Pradesh
- 3)  IIT-BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
- 4)  Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
- 5)  ICAR-Indian  Veterinary Research  Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
- 6)  Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab
- 7)  Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh
- 8)  Sher-e-Kashmir  University  of  Agricultural  Sciences  and  Technology, Jammu
- 9)  IIM, Kashipur, Uttarakhand
- 10)   Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala
- 11)   ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad, Telangana
- 12)   Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
- 13)   Agri innovation and entrepreneurship cell, ANGRAU, Andhra Pradesh
- 14)   National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha
- 15)   S K N Agriculture University, Jobner, Rajasthan
- 16)   Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal
- 17)   Bihar Agricultural University, Bhagalpur, Bihar
- 18)   Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat
- 19)   ICAR-Central  Institute  for  Research  on  Cotton  Technology,  Mumbai, Maharashtra
- 20)   Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra
- 21)   National  Institute  of  Veterinary  Epidemiology  and  Disease  Informatics (NIVEDI), Bengaluru, Karnataka
- 22)   College of Fisheries, Lembucherra, Tripura
- 23)   Department  of  Veterinary  Medicine  College  of  Veterinary  Sciences &Animal Husbandry, Aizawl, Mizoram
- 24)   College of Horticulture & Forestry, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh

Annex-II State-wise List of ICAR Agri-Busines Incubation (ABI) Centers

|   S No | State          |   ABICs (Nos) | ICAR Institute                                                                                                   |
|--------|----------------|---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Andhra Pradesh |             1 | DCR, Puttur                                                                                                      |
|      2 | Assam          |             1 | NRC on Pig, Guwahati                                                                                             |
|      3 | Bihar          |             1 | ICAR RC for ER, Patna                                                                                            |
|      4 | Goa            |             1 | CCARI, Goa                                                                                                       |
|      5 | Haryana        |             1 | NDRI, Karnal                                                                                                     |
|      6 | Meghalaya      |             1 | ICAR RC for NEH, Barapani                                                                                        |
|      7 | West Bengal    |             1 | NINFET, Kolkata                                                                                                  |
|      8 | Gujarat        |             2 | i. DMAPR, Ananad; ii. DGR, Junagarh                                                                              |
|      9 | Jharkhand      |             2 | i. INRG, Ranchi; ii. IIAB, Ranchi                                                                                |
|     10 | Karnataka      |             2 | i. IIHR, Bangalore; ii. NIVEDI, Bangalore                                                                        |
|     11 | New Delhi      |             2 | i. IARI, New Delhi; ii. NCIPM, New Delhi                                                                         |
|     12 | Orissa         |             2 | i. CIFA, Bhubaneshwar; ii. NRRI, Cuttack                                                                         |
|     13 | Punjab         |             2 | i. CIPHET, Ludhiana; ii. CPRI, Shimla (RC);                                                                      |
|     14 | Madhya Pradesh |             3 | i. CIAE, Bhopal; ii. IISR, Indore; iii. IGFRI, Jhansi                                                            |
|     15 | Rajasthan      |             3 | i. CAZRI, Jodhpur; ii. CSWRI, Awikanagar, iii. DRMR, Bharatpur;                                                  |
|     16 | Tamil Nadu     |             3 | i. CIBA, Chennai; ii. SBI, Coimbatore; and iii. NRC on Banana, Trichi                                            |
|     17 | Kerala         |             4 | i. CIFT, Cochin; ii. CMFRI, Cochin; iii. CPCRI, Kasarggod; iv. IISR, Calicut                                     |
|     18 | Telangana      |             5 | i. NAARM, Hyderabad; ii. NRC on Meat Hyderabad; iii. IIMR, Hyderabad; iv. IIOR; Hyderabad; v. ICRISAT; Hyderabad |
|     19 | Maharashtra    |             6 | i. CIFE, Mumbai; ii. CIRCTO, Mumbai; iii. CCRI, Nagpur; iv. CICR, Nagpur; v. DOGR, Pune vi. NRC on Grapes        |
|     20 | Uttar Pradesh  |             7 | i. CARI, Izatnagar; ii. IVRI, Izatnagar;                                                                         |

| S No   | State   | ABICs (Nos)   | ICAR Institute                                                                                    |
|--------|---------|---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        |         |               | iii. IIVR, Varanasi; iv. IISR, Lucknow; v. IIPR, Kanpur; vi. CISH, Lucknow; vii. IIFSR, Modipuram |
|        |         | 50            |                                                                                                   |

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