Think of a farmer who wants to build a new-age storage shed for his produce. Or an agri-business entrepreneur who wants to drive his business ahead. Such aspirations tend to need funding to materialize. Meet the National Agriculture Infrastructure Financing Facility (NAIFF). StartupFlora, your startup and small business facilitators, are here to explain how NAIFF is providing wings to Indian farmers and agri-businesses. We are helping to get new businesses underway, and awareness of financing sources such as NAIFF is a key to it.
What is NAIFF?
National Agriculture Infrastructure Financing Facility (NAIFF) is a government scheme to fund agricultural infrastructure in India. It is a government subsidy, a helping hand, so to speak, while taking a loan for the construction of something like a cold storage, godowns, processing factories, etc. It is also known as the National Agri Infra Financing Facility or the National Agriculture Infra Financing Facility for short.
Why is NAIFF Important?
Agriculture forms the backbone of the Indian economy. NAIFF seeks to make the backbone of the infrastructure strong by utilizing best-in-class infrastructure in favor of farmers and agri-businesses. Improved infrastructure will imply less wastage, improved efficiency, and finally higher incomes for farmers in the agriculture industry.
How NAIFF Benefits Farmers?
NAIFF benefits the farmers in many ways:
Access to Better Infrastructure: NAIFF lending builds new warehouses, which reduce post-harvest loss and allow farmers to store their produce until they get better prices.
Better Access to Markets: Better infrastructure, or better roads and transport, allows farmers to transport their produce to markets and reach more consumers.
More Income: By reducing loss and providing better access to markets, NAIFF allows farmers to gain more income.
How Does NAIFF Benefit Agri-Businesses?
NAIFF also plays a significant part in extending finance to agri-businesses:
Opportunities for Growth: Finance extended by NAIFF enables agri-businesses to increase their capacity, establish new processing units, and increase the level of production.
Technology Upgradation: NAIFF makes it possible to introduce new technology for agriculture, like precision farming, which will result in more efficiency and productivity.
Value Addition: NAIFF supports the creation of value chains so that agri-business enterprises can convert raw farm produce into value-added produce, which generates them improved returns.
What Does NAIFF Finance?
NAIFF funds projects in various agricultural infrastructure such as:
Cold storage complexes
Warehousing and storage sheds
Processing factories
Primary processing plants
Rural markets (also associated with naif market)
Logistics terminals
Irrigation schemes
Precision farming and application of technology
Who Is Eligible to Avail NAIFF?
NAIFF is advantageous to a large majority of the agricultural stakeholders, i.e.:
Farmers
Agri-entrepreneurs
Cooperatives
Farmer producer organizations (FPOs)
Agri-businesses
Benefiting from NAIFF Financing
Process to obtain NAIFF finance is proposal filing to the associated financial institutions. Institutions shortlist proposals of projects and provide funds based on merit. You can even go for other schemes such as the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, i.e., National Agri Insurance Scheme, or National Agro Foundation schemes, i.e., National Agro Foundation Chennai. It does not rely upon the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development NABARD, but they too lend to agriculture.
NAIFF and Other Initiatives
NAIFF supports other government projects in agri-business development. It supports projects like the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme and projects carried out by institutions like the National Agro Industries.
StartupFlora: Your Business Partner for Agri-Business Development
We at StartupFlora are always keen to support agri-businesses. We can assist you in applying for the opportunity of getting opportunity under the NAIFF scheme, say assisting you to know your eligibility and how to apply. We do not give the cash, but we can give you information and tools that can assist you in going through the system and get you higher chances of getting aid. Get in touch with us today and find out how we can make your agri-business prosper!
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