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National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Friday launched an agri fund for startups named ‘Agri-SURE’ with an initial corpus of Rs 750 crore. 

The fund was announced by a unit of NABARD, NABVENTURES, and accumulated Rs 250 crores each from NABARD and the Ministry of Agriculture, and Rs 250 crores from other institutions. 

The latest fund aims to back approximately 85 agricultural startups, with investments of up to Rs 25 crore each by the end of its tenure.  It will provide support through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic, debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), and direct equity support. Further, the fund intends to foster entrepreneurship by promoting IT-based solutions and machinery rental services tailored for farmers.

“Fintech innovation in agriculture is one of the important aspect for the last mile connectivity with minimum expenses,” said Shaji K.V., Chairman of NABARD. “Credit alone will not solve the problem in the agriculture sector. The next level of growth will come from innovations that need to be co-partnered by Public and Private Institutions.” 

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NABARD also launched the Agri-SURE Greenathon 2024, a hackathon aimed to address three key problems with agritech. Smart agriculture on a budget, turning agri-waste into profitable business opportunities and tech solutions making regenerative agriculture remunerative. 

“We need innovation and technology to ensure the last-mile delivery of resources. Most of our farmers hold small pieces of land, in this ecosystem we need to focus on enhancing productivity, this is where technology can play a crucial role,” noted A K Sahu, Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.