Shivraj Singh Chouhan launches AgriSure Fund for Agriculture Start ups

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Minister for  Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, launched the AgriSURE fund in New Delhi on 3 September 2024. 

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her 2022-23 Union Budget speech, announced the creation of a dedicated fund to finance startups for agriculture and rural enterprises.

The Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Bhagirath Choudhary and Ram Nath Thakur, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Dr Devesh Chaturvedi, and other key stakeholders from the banking and agricultural community were present.

About AgriSure Fund 

• The AgriSure Fund or Agri Fund for Start-ups & Rural Enterprises is a Category -II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) registered with the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• The fund will be managed by NABARD (National Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development) 
• It will be under the regulation of the capital market regulator SEBI.

Corpus of the AgriSure Fund 

• The total corpus of the AgriSure Fund will be Rs 750 crore. The government of India, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, will contribute Rs 250 crore, NABARD will contribute Rs 250 crore, and banks, insurance companies, private investors, etc., will invest the rest of the amount.
• NABVENTURES Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD, will be the Fund's Investment Manager.

Duration and Target of the Fund 

• The Fund is a closed ended scheme and has a duration of 10 years which can be extended by 2 years.
• The Fund targets to support about 85 Start-ups by the end of the Fund life with maximum investment of Rs 25 crore under the two schemes of the Fund.

Schemes of the AgriSure Fund 

There are two schemes within the AgriSure Fund: FOF scheme or Fund of Fund and Direct Scheme.

• In the Fund of Fund scheme it will invest in other Alternative Investment Funds, Debt Alternative Investment Funds that invest in the startup focused on agricultural and rural development.
• The corpus of the FoF Scheme is Rs 450 crore.
• The Direct Scheme will invest in the equity capital of  Agriculture and rural development-focused start-ups in the country. 
• The corpus of the Direct Scheme is Rs 300 crore.

Beneficiary of AgriSure Fund 

The AgriSure Fund  will invest in Start-ups working in agriculture and rural development sector like, Agritech, Food Processing, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Biotechnology, Waste Management, Renewable energy, Supply Chain Management, Farm Mechanisation, Agri Value Chain including Primary Cooperative Societies development, Support for FPOs, Technology support at the Farm level and Climate change.