With an objective to further empower farmer producer companies, the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) has announced the roll-out of a new scheme called the Equity Grants and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme (EGCGFS).
In order to generate more awareness about this scheme, SFAC will conduct camps in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar in the seventh quarter. These camps are being attended by Department of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, Department of Animal Husbandry and some pharmacy producing companies with their respective research intuitions. Several banks like Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank will also form a part of this camp.
According to Sumanta Chaudhuri, Managing Director, SFAC, “The aim is to facilitate providing greater strength to FPCs by developing close associations with banks. This initiative aims at catalyzing private investments in promoting FPCs up and, thereby providing assured market to producers for increasing rural income and employment.”
The Equity Grant Fund Scheme enables eligible FPCs to receive a grant equivalent in amount to the equity contribution of their shareholder members in the FPC, subject to a cap of `10.00 lakh, thus enhancing the overall capital base of the FPC. The Scheme shall address nascent and emerging FPCs, which have paid up capital not exceeding `30 lakh as on the date of application. It shall be cash infusion equivalent to the amount of share holder equity in the FPC subject to a cap of `10 lakh per FPC.
The Equity Grant Scheme aims at enhancing viability and sustainability of FPCs, increasing their credit worthiness and enhancing their shareholding of members to increase their ownership and participation in the FPC. The Equity Grant shall be a cash infusion equivalent to the amount of shareholder equity in the FPC subject to a cap of `10.00 lakh per FPC and shall be directly transferred to the bank account of the FPC.