NABARD is set to launch ₹1000-crore blended fund for Agritech-startups

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Fund will bolster technology-driven agri-startups and rural enterprises.
- Also, it will invest in startups facing challenges in scaling up operations due to limited access to equity and debt instruments to create new forward and backward linkages in the rural ecosystem.

Agritech startups are individuals or segments of companies using technology in field of agriculture leading to increase in productivity, efficiency, and output.

Services Provided by Agritech-startups:
- Promotes Smart Agriculture: It is done by providing Information on crop yields, rainfall patterns, pest infestation, and soil nutrition.
- Farming as a service: For instance, EM3 Agri Services offers farming services and machinery rentals to farmers on a pay-for-use basis.
- Big data analytics: Development of farm-specific, data-driven diagnostics to determine soil and crop health can boost productivity and farmer income.
  - It involves use of Artificial Intelligence, etc.

Challenges faced by them: Incubators’ competence (incubators are in early learning stage of learning curve), Business model (Unable to connect to real problems of large number of stake holder), lack of seed fund, Lack of mentorship etc.

Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM), 2021, includes India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA), Farmers Database, Funding to the States on the new Technology (NeGPA) etc.
Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development Programme, under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) from 2018-19 to promote innovation and agri-entrepreneurship.
Agri - startups can avail loan under Priority Sector lending facility by Banks as per direction of RBI.
NIDHI Seed Support Program (NIDHI-SSP), under Department of Science & Technology (DST).