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 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) held a prelaunch stakeholder meet to announce the ‘Agri-SURE’ fund, an Agri Fund for Start-Ups & Rural Enterprises. The fund is announced by NABVENTURES, a subsidiary of NABARD with an initial corpus of ?750 Crore with 250 crores each from NABARD and the Ministry of Agriculture, and 250 crores from other institutions. The event took place in Mumbai was graced by the presence of Shri A K Sahu, Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Shaji K.V., Chairman, NABARD, Shri Goverdhan Singh Rawat, DMD, NABARD, and Dr. Ajay Kumar Sood, DMD, NABARD. This visionary initiative aims to promote investment in innovative, technology-driven, high-risk, and high-impact activities in agriculture and allied areas.

Managed by NABVENTURES, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD, the fund is structured to support approximately 85 agri start-ups with investment sizes of up to ?25 crore each by the end of its term. The fund will provide support through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic, and debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), as well as direct equity support to start-ups. Agri-SURE's focus areas include promoting innovative, technology-driven initiatives in agriculture, enhancing the farm produce value chain, creating new rural ecosystem linkages and infrastructure, generating employment, and supporting Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs). Additionally, the fund aims to encourage entrepreneurship through IT-based solutions and machinery rental services for farmers, driving sustainable growth and development in the agricultural sector.

Speaking about the necessity to bring in innovation to bridge the credit gap and enhance the existing rural ecosystem, Shri A K Sahu, Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said, “The broader objective of this initiative is to address the flailing issues for agri and rural sector. We need innovation and technology to ensure the last mile delivery of resources. Most of our farmers hold small piece of land, in this ecosystem we need to focus on enhancing the productivity, this is where technology can play a crucial role. We need to foster an ecosystem for the systematic mechanization in order to achieve our objectives. Agri-SURE is a big leap in that direction. With the help of this fund we aim to support startups to provide us innovative and sustainable solutions”

While speaking on the announcement of Agri-SURE Shri Shaji K.V., Chairman of NABARD said, “Digitalization of agriculture is the call of the hour in order to enhance the agri value chain as the next wave of growth will come from innovation. Fintech innovation in agriculture is one of the important aspect for the last mile connectivity with minimum expenses. Farmers are the foundation of the agri value and they need to be handled very closely and provided with solutions. Credit alone will not solve the problem in Agriculture sector. Next level of growth will come from innovations that need to be co-partnered by Public and Private Institutions. With this fund we aim to support early stage innovators and help farmers with viable, sustainable and durable tech solutions.”

Underscoring its commitment to fostering innovation, NABARD launched the AgriSURE Greenathon 2024. The hackathon aims to address three key problem statements: "Smart Agriculture on a Budget," which tackles the high cost of advanced agriculture technologies that hinder small and marginal farmers; "Turning Agri-Waste into Profitable Business Opportunities," focusing on transforming agricultural waste into profitable ventures; and "Tech Solutions Making Regenerative Agriculture Remunerative," which aims to overcome economic hurdles in adopting regenerative agriculture practices.

NABARD called upon participation from young innovative minds to contribute in the journey of our country towards ‘Vikasit Bharat’ with their innovative solutions to alleviate the flailing issues of the agriculture.

The prelaunch stakeholder meeting gathered representatives from banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, AIFs, and startups operating in the agricultural domain. Their presence underscores the collaborative effort to foster sustainable rural development and economic growth.

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