Agriculture Current Affair 20 July 2020

Agri clinics, agri biz centres help create more than 28,000 entrepreneurs: NIAM chief

The Agri Clinic and Agri Business Centre scheme of the Centre has helped in training more than 71,000 agri and science graduates in the country, according to P Chandra Shekar, Director General of National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur.

Speaking at a webinar on ‘Business ideas for start-ups in agriculture’, organised by the Atal Incubation Centre of Nitte Education Trust, he said that more than 28,000 agri-entrepreneurs have established their ventures in 32 different categories after being trained under the scheme.

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute adjudged the best research institute under ICAR

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has been adjudged as the best research institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

CMFRI won the Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR institutions award, the highest award of the ICAR with a cash prize of ₹10 lakh, in the category of the large institutions. This is in recognition of CMFRI’s excellent performance in marine fisheries research during the 2014-19 period.

Centre issues norms for ₹1-lakh crore Agri Infra Fund scheme

The Centre has issued guidelines for financing under the recently announced ₹1-lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme, that seeks to facilitate creation and strengthening of post-harvest management and marketing infrastructure across the country.

Under the scheme, ₹1-lakh crore will be provided as loan by banks and financial institutions to farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Primary Agriculture Co-operative Societies, agri-entrepreneurs, start-ups, and marketing co-operatives, among others, to set up agriculture infrastructure, such as supply chain services, including e-marketing platform, primary processing centres, warehouses, silos, pack houses, assaying units, sorting and grading units, cold chains, logistics facilities and ripening chambers.