On December 17th, the College of Horticulture and Forestry’s RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator (CHF R-ABI) in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, held a ceremony to distribute grants to 14 agri-startups. A total of Rs 48.80 lakh was disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under two programs: the Agripreneurship Orientation Programme (AOP) and Seed Stage Funding (SSF).
The event, chaired by Dr. Anupam Mishra, Vice Chancellor of Central Agricultural University, Imphal, was organized by CHF R-ABI. Dr. Anil Kumar, Principal Investigator and CEO of CHF R-ABI, led the event, along with the business team. The program was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
Tayi Taggu, Deputy Commissioner of East Siang, and Prof. B.N. Hazarika, Dean of the College of Horticulture and Forestry, attended the ceremony.
The CHF R-ABI project team, comprising domain experts and business professionals, aims to foster agricultural entrepreneurship in the North-East region. The 14 beneficiary startups, including Esem Organic LLP, Dianthe Pvt Ltd, and others, will receive funding to support their growth and innovation.
Over 80 participants, including academics, scientists, farmers, and youth, attended the ceremony, which also served as an awareness program.
About RKVY-RAFTAAR
The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana-Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) is a central government scheme aimed at boosting agriculture and allied sectors. It seeks to make farming profitable, support farmers, reduce risks, encourage agri-business entrepreneurship, and develop infrastructure.
Introduced in 2007, the scheme was renamed RKVY-RAFTAAR in 2018-19. The central and state governments share funding in a 60:40 ratio. Proposals can be submitted to the state government or the Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC).
