Synopsis-
To support ecosystem/mechanisms in the agricultural domain of the state, APART has established the first of its kind initiative, the Assam AgriFin “Xamahar”. This fund has been conceptualised by the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), a World Bank-financed project of the Assam Government under ARIAS Society.
Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART) has come up with a competitive funding mechanism for supporting innovative approaches to deliver financial services at a scale in the agribusiness sector in the state.
APART Launch Competitive Funding Mechanism to Boost Agri sector : Assam
To support ecosystem/mechanisms in the agricultural domain of the state APART has established the first of its kind initiative, the Assam AgriFin “Xamahar”. This fund has been conceptualised by the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), a World Bank-financed project of the Assam Government under the ARIAS Society.
Through this initiative, the project intends to partner with select 8 to 12 sub-projects from the financial services sector directly benefitting 125,000 beneficiaries of which 30% will be women.
Xamahar was officially launched on the 9th of December 2021 at a function held at the College of Veterinary Sciences, Guwahati by Atul Bora, Minister, Agriculture.
Xamahar will seek proposals from service providers like Banks, MFIs, value chain financers, insurance companies, and payments service providers from the financial services sector, to apply to the fund.
Bora stated, “The initiative taken by APART for the farmers is appreciable. Hope the farmer is able to provide a commercial look of their farming work with this. As compared to the other states, Assam still lacking behind in farming. We have to work very hard to develop this sector. The government has already earmarked Rs 200 crore in the budget to strengthen the marketing and collection process of agricultural produce.”
The fund will support the testing of innovations and upscaling of tested innovations by financial service providers (banks, MFIs, value chain financiers, insurance companies, and payments service providers) that in turn will help to increase access in terms of financial services for beneficiaries in the agri-business sector.
The four priority areas identified for innovations are:
- Savings, which includes access to long term savings/micro pensions,
- digitization of agriculture payments,
- Insurance in terms of crop, livestock, life and other perils and
- Credit (Production and Investment).
During the event, the portal http://assam-agrifin.in/ was launched by the minister Bora.