Fourteen agriculture start-ups from Tamil Nadu will get ₹56.90 lakh as first instalment out of ₹1.32 crore sanctioned by the Centre under the Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development Programme component of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare had conceived the scheme to promote innovation and agri-preneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem. The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad, has been named the knowledge partner for the southern States incubation centres and technology business incubator is Agribusiness Incubation Society (ABIS) of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, for training the start-ups in the State.
Under the scheme, start-ups would get grant to build on their business ideas and for those who are already in business and want to scale up. The funding would be based on the achievement of milestones.
“We organised the Agripreneurship Orientation Program (AOP) from June 2019 to August 2020 and Start-up Agribusiness Incubation Program (SAIP) from November 2019 to January 2020,” A.V. Gnanasambandam, Chief Executive Officer, ABIS, said.
In all, 19 AOP trainees and 25 start-ups had been trained, out of which 12 AOP trainees and 16 start-ups had made a presentation in the final screening in March, he added.
Pre-seed grant
The Agriculture Ministry had sanctioned a grant of ₹1.1 crore in seed funding for eight start-ups under the SAIP and ₹21.5 lakh for six start-ups under pre-seed stage funding under the AOP.
Coimbatore-based PVR Foods, which makes ready-to-use millet products has been sanctioned the highest amount of ₹23 lakh and will receive ₹9.20 lakh as first instalment. Some of its products include millet-based batter of idli and dosa and over 70 products from millet variants as a staple food under the brand name Bommi Dhaniyam.
“The funding is extremely helpful amid the COVID-19 times. The common perception is millet-based products are costlier. The funding would help in enhancing infrastructure, marketing and creating awareness,” Ms. Subathra, who quit her professor job to start PVR Foods in 2016, said.
Om Banana Crafts Pvt. Ltd. from Melakkal nillage in Madurai district, which makes machinery to produce ecofriendly fibres and value-added products from banana, has been sanctioned ₹17 lakh and will be receiving ₹6.8 lakh as first instalment.
P.M. Murugesan of Om Banana Crafts said he would use the funds to add more machinery and increase his headcount from 30.
K.M. Vasanth Kumar from Vedapatti village in Krishnagiri district will receive ₹1.5 lakhs as first instalment out of ₹2.5 lakh to further research his project on a cost-effective integrated pest trap to reduce pesticide usage.
“Based on the outcome we will be scaling up production and distribution by starting a partnership firm — Gravity Pest Solutions,” Mr. Kumar said.
