Scheme for Training of Agriculture Students to Establish Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres

Government has launched a scheme ‘Establishment of Agriclinic and Agri-business Centres’. The Scheme aims to:

(i)           Provide gainful self-employment opportunities to unemployed agricultural graduates, agricultural diploma holders, intermediate in agriculture and biological science graduates with PG in agri-related courses;

(ii)         Support agricultural development; and

(iii)       Supplement efforts of pubic extension by necessarily providing extension services to the farmers as per local needs of farmers.

            Since inception of the scheme, 27,894 candidates have been trained and 9,949 of them have established agri-ventures up to February, 2012.

Salient features of the scheme:

(i)        The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) is the Implementing Agency for training component of the Scheme. Two months’ free residential training is imparted to the selected eligible candidates on Agri-Entrepreneurship Development followed by one-year handholding support after completion of training, .through Nodal Training Institutes.

(ii)      The Scheme has a provision of credit support (start up loan) upto ` 20 lakhs for individual projects and  ` 100 lakhs for a group project. 

(iii)    There is a provision of credit linked back-ended composite subsidy on the bank loan availed by trained candidates under the Scheme. The subsidy is 44% in respect of women, SC/ST & all categories of candidates from North-Eastern and Hill States;  and 36% in respect of all other categories

(iv)    National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the Implementing Agency for disbursement of subsidy and monitoring the credit support to agri-clinics and agribusiness centres through the banks.