Small Farmer Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) brings in its awareness camp on Venture Capital Assistance Scheme (VCAS) which offers assistance (VCA) to agripreneurs to Madhya Pradesh.
As a part of the fifth phase of its awareness camp, SFAC conducted camps at Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The Scheme offers Venture Capital to set up agri-business projects and Project Development Facility (PDF) to assist producer, producer groups/organization, and units in Agri-Export Zones and agriculture graduates in preparation of economically viable Detailed Project Report (DPR).
These camps had been conducted in ten districts of Madhya Pradesh, including Rajgarh, Shahjahpur, Hosangabad, Sagar, Katni, Umaria and Raisen. The camps are being attended by DIC, DDM NABARD, lDM, Bankers from Central$ Bank, PNB, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Horticulture, Agriculture and Forest Departments, Entrepreneurs, Farmers, NGOs, Finance Corporations, SFAC, AFC, etc.
The scheme envisages single window approach while associating with banks financing the projects, to extend venture capital, with term loan and working capital, to agribusiness applicants. The project should be in agriculture or allied sectors only - horticulture, floriculture, medicinal and aromatic plants, minor forest produce (MFP), apiculture, and fisheries, etc. The projects in dairy and poultry sectors have been excluded.
The project seeking VCA from SFAC must be credit linked and currently the financing institutions like the Nationalized Banks, SBI and its subsidiaries and other commercial banks are eligible to recommend for VCA under the Scheme.
Thrust is given to strengthen backward linkages of agri-business projects with producers in order to assist farmers, producer groups and agriculture graduates to enhance their participation in value chain through PDF.