To empower the women farming community in India, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has taken various initiatives to assist women in gaining access to all beneficiary-oriented components of various programmes.
Recently, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply to Rajya Sabha has said that Ministry has launched a component called “Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development” under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY-RAFTAAR) in 2018-19 with an objective to promote innovation and agri-entrepreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem.
The Ministry has appointed five Knowledge Partners (KPs) as Centres of Excellence and twenty-four RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) from across the country for the implementation of this programme.
The minister further informed that 173 women startups/ entrepreneurs have been supported so far under the “Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development” programme. ‘’Besides, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) has been supporting Agri-based startups under the project called National Agriculture Innovation Fund (NAIF) initiated in years 2016-2017. Under the NAIF scheme, 50 Agri-Business Incubation Centers (ABICs) have been established and are operational in the ICAR network. Potential women startups/ entrepreneurs can avail benefit from these programmes,’’ he added.
About Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana:
The Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), a sub-component of the Deendayal Antodaya Yojana-NRLM (DAY-NRLM), focuses on improving and enhancing women’s existing conditions. The scheme acknowledges the identity of “Mahila” as “Kisan” and strives to increase women’s competence in the area of agro-ecologically sustainable practices. It has a clear mission to reach out to the poorest of the poor and expand or diversify Mahila Kisan’s current portfolio of activities.
It further focuses on encouraging smallholders to embrace climate-resilient agro-ecology, resulting in creating a pool of skilled community members.
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