Loans for Food Parks and Food Processing Units in Designated Food Parks

Development of food processing industry in the country is accorded top priority by the Government of India as it is one of the most critical links in the agri value chain. Taking this agenda further, the Hon’ble Finance Ministry, in 2014, announced setting up of a Special Fund of Rs.2,000 crore in NABARD for providing direct term loans at affordable rates of interest to Designated Food Parks (DFPs) and food processing units in the DFPs.

The objectives of the Fund are:

To provide impetus to development of the food processing sector on a cluster basis in the country
To reduce wastage of agricultural produce
To create employment opportunities especially in rural areas.

Scope of Financing from the Fund

The Fund provides Term loans for:

Development/establishment of all infrastructure required in the DFPs
Augmentation/modernization/creation of additional infrastructure in the DFPs
Setting up of individual food processing units or any other unit that is established for supporting the operations of the food processing units within the DFPs; and
Modernization of existing processing units in the DFPs resulting in process technology upgradation, automation, increased efficiency, improvement in product quality, reduction in costs, etc.

Eligible Borrowers

The following entities are eligible from the Fund for term loan assistance from NABARD:

State Governments
Entities promoted by State Governments or Government of India
Joint Ventures
Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)
Cooperatives
Federations of Cooperatives
Farmers’ Producer Organizations
Corporates
Companies
Entrepreneurs etc

NABARD Scheme

FARM SECTOR

Producers Organisation Development Fund (PODF)

NABARD has taken an initiative for supporting producer organizations (POs), adopting a flexible approach to meet the needs of producers. In order to give a special focus, “Producers Organization Development Fund” (PODF) has been set up w.e.f. 01 April 2011, with an initial corpus of Rs. 50 crore.

Any registered PO viz. Producers Company (as defined under Sec. 581 A in part IXA of Company’s Act, 1956), Producers Cooperatives, registered Farmer Federations, MACS (Mutually Aided Cooperative Society), industrial cooperative societies, other registered federations, PACS, etc. set up by producers are eligible from the Fund.

Support under PODF is provided as under:

Loan-linked grant support is available to the FPOs for promotion, capacity building & market interventions.
Grant assistance to eligible agencies for organizing / conducting workshops, meetings, round table meetings, special studies, IT-based interventions, etc. is also available without linking to availing institutional loan.

Watershed Development Programme

The Union Finance Minister, in his budget speech for 1999-2000, had announced the creation of a Watershed Development Fund (WDF) in National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with broad objectives of unification of multiplicity of watershed development programmes into a single national initiative through involvement of village level institutions and Project Facilitating Agencies (PFAs).

In pursuance thereof, WDF has been created in NABARD with a contribution of Rs. 100 crore each by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India (GoI) and NABARD.

Tribal Development Programmme

NABARD has been closely associated with tribal development and sustainable livelihoods through orchard based farming systems. As an integral component of NABARD’s Natural Resource Management (NRM) policy of providing sustainable livelihoods, NABARD laid special emphasis on providing support for holistic development of tribal communities with orchard establishment as the core element.

Based on the successful experience of Adivasi Development Programmes, NABARD embarked upon an ambitious program of replicating the wadi model across the country. In this direction, NABARD created a Tribal Development Fund (TDF) with a corpus of Rs. 50 crore, out of its profits for 2003-04. The corpus was augmented from time to time. All projects under TDF are implemented by partnering with State Governments, Government of India, NGOs and Corporates.

GOVT. SPONSORED SCHEMES

Agri Clinic and Agribusiness Centres Scheme (ACABC Scheme)

The ACABC scheme is being implemented by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India, with NABARD acting as subsidy channelising agency.

The objectives of the scheme are –

To supplement efforts of public extension by providing extension and other services to farmers either on payment basis or free of cost as per business model of agri-preneur, local needs and affordability of target group of farmers
To support agricultural development
To create gainful self-employment opportunities to unemployed agricultural graduates, agricultural diploma holders, intermediate in agriculture and biological science graduates with PG in agri-related courses.

Agri-Clinics

Agri-Clinics are envisaged to provide expert advice and services to farmers on various aspects to enhance productivity of crops/animals and increase the incomes of farmers. Agri-Clinics provide support in the following areas:

Soil health
Cropping practices
Plant protection
Crop insurance Clinical services for animals, feed and fodder management
Post-harvest technology
Clinical services for animals, feed and fodder management
Prices of various crops in the market, etc.

Agri-Business Centres

Agri-Business Centres are commercial units of agri-ventures established by trained agriculture professionals. These ventures may include maintenance and custom hiring of farm equipment, sale of inputs and other services in agriculture and allied areas, including post-harvest management and market linkages for income generation and entrepreneurship development.

The scheme covers full financial support for training and handholding, provision of loan and credit-linked back-end composite subsidy.

List of Beneficiaries

Graduates in agriculture and allied subjects from State Agriculture Universities (SAUs)/Central Agricultural Universities/Universities recognised by ICAR/UGC. Degree in Agriculture and allied subjects offered by other agencies are also considered subject to approval of Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, GoI, on recommendation of the State Government
Diploma (with at least 50% marks)/Post Graduate Diploma holders in Agriculture and allied subjects from State Agricultural Universities, State Agriculture and Allied Departments and State Department of Technical Education.
Diploma in Agriculture and allied subjects offered by other agencies are also considered subject to approval of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, GoI on recommendation of the State Government
Biological Science Graduates with Post Graduation in Agriculture & allied subjects
Degree courses recognised by UGC having more than 60 percent of the course content in Agriculture and allied subjects
Diploma/Post Graduate Diploma courses with more than 60 percent of course content in Agriculture and allied subjects, after B.Sc. with Biological Sciences, from recognised colleges and universities.
Agriculture related courses at Intermediate (i.e. plus two) level, with at least 55% marks.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

Government of India (GOI) has approved a new Central Sector Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) with an allocation of Rs. 6,000 crore for the period 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. The scheme will be implemented by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana:

PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana is a comprehensive package which will result in creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet. It will not only provide a big boost to the growth of food processing sector in the country but also help in providing better returns to farmers and is a big step towards doubling of farmers income, creating huge employment opportunities especially in the rural areas, reducing wastage of agricultural produce, increasing the processing level and enhancing the export of the processed foods.

The following schemes will be implemented under PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana :

PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana is expected to leverage investment of Rs. 31,400 crore for handling of 334 lakh MT agro-produce valued at Rs. 1,04,125 crore, benefiting 20 lakh farmers and generating 5,30,500 direct/indirect employment in the country by the year 2019-20.

Mega Food Park

The Scheme of Mega Food Park aims at providing a mechanism to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together farmers, processors and retailers so as to ensure maximizing value addition, minimizing wastage, increasing farmers income and creating employment opportunities particularly in rural sector. The Mega Food Park Scheme is based on “Cluster” approach and envisages creation of state of art support infrastructure in a well-defined agri / horticultural zone for setting up of modern food processing units in the industrial plots provided in the park with well-established supply chain. Mega food park typically consist of supply chain infrastructure including collection centers, primary processing centers, central processing centers, cold chain and around 25-30 fully developed plots for entrepreneurs to set up food processing units.

The Mega Food Park project is implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is a Body Corporate registered under the Companies Act. State Government, State Government entities and Cooperatives are not required to form a separate SPV for implementation of Mega Food Park project. Subject to fulfillment of the conditions of the Scheme Guidelines, the funds are released to the SPVs. To view status of 41 Mega Food Parks funded under the scheme.

The scheme has been discontinued by the Government with effect from 01.04.2021 with provision for committed liabilities for ongoing projects only.

So far following 24 Mega Food Parks are operational:

1. Srini Mega Food Park, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.
2. Godavari Mega Aqua Park, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh.
3. North East Mega Food Park, Nalbari, Assam.
4. Indus Best Mega Food Park, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
5. Gujarat Agro Mega Food Park, Surat, Gujarat.
6. Cremica mega Food park, Una, Himachal Pradesh.
7. Integrated Mega Food Park, Tumkur, Karnataka.
8. Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) Mega Food Park, Palakkad, Kerala.
9. Indus Mega Food Park, Khargoan, Madhya Pradesh.
10. Avantee Mega Food Park, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh.
11. Paithan Mega Food Park, Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
12. Satara Mega Food Park, Satara, Maharashtra.
13. Zoram Mega Food Park, Kolasib, Mizoram.
14. MITS Mega Food Park, Rayagada, Odisha.
15. International Mega Food Park, Fazilka, Punjab.
16. Sukhjit Mega Food Park, Kapurthala, Punjab.
17. Greentech Mega Food park, Ajmer, Rajasthan.
18. Smart Agro Mega Food Park, Nizamabad, Telangana.
19. Tripura Mega Food Park, West Tripura, Tripura.
20. Patanjali Food and Herbal Park, Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
21. Himalayan Mega Food Park, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand.
22. Jangipur Bengal Mega Food Park, Murshidabad, West Bengal.
23. Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (HSIIDC), Haryana.
24. Kerala State Industrial Dev Corpt Ltd (KSIDC), Alappuzha, Kerala

Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)

[Central Sector Scheme]

Cabinet in its meeting approved the Central Sector Scheme – “Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)” to support creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India’s natural resource endowment and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets with an outlay of Rs.10900 crore.

1Background

The food processing sector in India encompasses manufacturing enterprises in all the segments from micro to large industries.
India is having competitive advantage in terms of resource endowment, large domestic market and scope for promoting value added products.
Achieving full potential of this sector would require Indian companies to improve their competitive strength vis-à-vis their global counterpart in term of scale of output, productivity, value addition and their linkages with the global value chain.
The Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry has been formulated based on the Production Linked incentive scheme of NITI Aayog under “AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports”

Scheme Objectives:

Support Food manufacturing entities with stipulated minimum Sales and willing to make minimum stipulated investment for expansion of processing capacity and Branding abroad to incentivise emergence of strong Indian brands.:
Support creation of global food manufacturing champions;
Strengthen select Indian brand of food products for global visibility and wider acceptance in the international markets;
Increase employment opportunities of off-farm jobs,
Ensuring remunerative prices of farm produce and higher income to farmers.

Salient features:

Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 10900 crore
The first component relates to incentivising manufacturing of four major food product segments viz. Ready to Cook/ Ready to Eat (RTC/ RTE) foods including Millets based products, Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, Mozzarella Cheese.
Innovative/ Organic products of SMEs including Free Range – Eggs, Poultry Meat, Egg Products in these segments are also covered under above component.
The selected applicant will be required to undertake investment, as quoted in their Application (Subject to the prescribed minimum) in Plant & Machinery in the first two years i.e. in 2021-22 & 2022-23.
Investment made in 2020-21 also to be counted for meeting the mandated investment.
The conditions of stipulated Minimum Sales and mandated investment will not be applicable for entities selected for making innovative/ organic products.
The second component relates to support for branding and marketing abroad to incentivise emergence of strong Indian brands.
For promotion of Indian Brand abroad, the scheme envisages grant to the applicant entities for – in store Branding, shelf space renting and marketing.
Scheme will be implemented over a six year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27.

Implementation strategy and targets

The scheme will be rolled out on All India basis.
The scheme shall be implemented through a Project Management Agency (PMA).
The PMA would, inter-alia, be responsible for appraisal of applications/ proposals, verification of eligibility for support, scrutiny of claims eligible for disbursement of incentive
The incentive under the scheme would be paid for six years ending 2026-27. The incentive payable for a particular year will be due for payment in the following year. The duration of the scheme will be six years i.e. 2021-22 to 2026-27.
The scheme is “fund-limited”, i.e. cost shall be restricted to the approved amount. The maximum incentive payable to each beneficiary shall be fixed in advance at the time of approval of that beneficiary. Regardless of achievement/ performance, this maximum shall not be exceeded.
The implementation of the scheme would facilitate expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crore and create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27.

Administrative and Implementation Mechanisms

The Scheme would be monitored at Centre by the Empowered Group of Secretaries chaired by the Cabinet Secretary
Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) would approve selection of applicants for coverage under the scheme, sanction and release of funds as incentives.
The Ministry will prepare Annual Action Plan covering various activities for implementation of the scheme.
A third party evaluation and mid-term review mechanism would be built in the programme.

Major impact, including employment generation potential

The implementation of the scheme would facilitate expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crore and;
Create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27.

Key Outcomes: Estimated Outgo, Sales, Investment, Employment & Exports
Outgo on Incentive (₹ Crore)	10,790
Increase in Sales- 6 Years (₹ Crore)	1,20,267
Incremental Sales in 6th Year (₹ Crore)	33,494
Cumulative additional Investment (₹ Crore)	6,057
Increase in Export Sales- 6 Years (₹ Crore)	27,816
Increase in Employment end of Year-5 (Nos)	2,47,730

Contact Details:

Shri Vikram Kesharee Pradhan
Deputy Secretary
Ministry of Food Processing Industries,
Panchsheel Bhawan, August Kranti Marg,
New Delhi-110049
Tel: 011-26406515
Email: vikram[dot]p[at]mofpi[dot]gov[dot]in

About Operation Greens Short Term Intervention

Scheme approved on 10.06.2020, Scheme guidelines notified on 11.06.2020

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has recently extended the Operation Greens Scheme from Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) to all fruits & vegetables (TOTAL) for a period of six months on pilot basis as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

The salient features of the guidelines are as below:

Objective:- The objective of intervention is to protect the growers of fruits and vegetables from making distress sale due to lockdown and reduce the post –
harvest losses.
Eligible Crops:- Fruits- Mango, Banana, Guava, Kiwi, Lichi, Papaya, Citrus, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Jackfruit; Vegetables: – French beans, Bitter Gourd, Brinjal, Capsicum, Carrot, Cauliflower, Chillies (Green), Okra, Onion, Potato and Tomato. Any other fruit/vegetable can be added in future on the basis of recommendation by Ministry of Agriculture or State Government (List of eligible crops, selected surplus production clusters and trigger price for intervention under the scheme – Please.
Duration of Scheme:- for the period of six months from the date of notification i.e., 11/06/2020.
Eligible Entities:- Food Processors, FPO/FPC, Co-operative Societies, Individual farmers, Licensed Commission Agent, Exporters, State Marketing/Co- operative Federation, Retailers etc. engaged in processing/ marketing of fruits and vegetables.
Pattern of Assistance:- Ministry will provide subsidy @ 50 % of the cost of the following two components, subject to the cost norms:
Transportation of eligible crops from surplus production cluster to consumption centre; and/or
Hiring of appropriate storage facilities for eligible crops (for maximum period of 3 months);
Submission of claim for subsidy – Eligible entities, who comply with the aforesaid essential criteria may undertake the transportation and/or storage of notified crops from notified surplus production cluster, without any prior approval from MoFPI and thereafter submit their claim on online portal.

The applicant should register on the portal before carrying out transportation/storage of fruits and vegetables.

For list of districts of each crops mentioned in Serial No. 7.5 of Horticulture Statistics at Glance 2018 published by Ministry of Agriculture, which will be taken as eligible production clusters subject to meeting of the criterion of essential conditions.

Contact Details:

Shri D. Praveen
Director
Ministry of Food Processing Industries,
Panchsheel Bhawan,
August Kranti Marg,
New Delhi-110049
Tel:011-26499177
E-mail: d[dot]praveen[at]nic[dot]in