Parliament Question: Funds to Himachal Pradesh under AIF

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.1410 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 28th JULY, 2026 FUNDS TO HIMACHAL PRADESH UNDER AIF 1410. MS KANGNA RANAUT: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of post-harvest losses in horticulture regions due to inadequate cold storage, processing and supply chain infrastructure and if so, the reasons therefor, State/UT-wise; (b) the details of number, status of projects and funds disbursed under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) in Himachal Pradesh, district-wise; (c) the details of infrastructure created under the scheme, including CA storage, cold chains, pack houses and grading units, State/UT-wise; (d) whether challenges faced by farmers, particularly small and marginal farmers in hilly areas in accessing institutional credit under the scheme have been assessed, if so, the measures taken thereon; (e) whether any special provisions are proposed for Himalayan States; and (f) the details of awareness and outreach measures for small and marginal horticulture farmers? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475)मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR) (a) : The Government is implementing various schemes to address infrastructure gaps and to strengthen post-harvest infrastructure across the country. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) facilitates medium- to long-term debt financing for creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and viable farming assets, including warehouses, cold stores, pack houses, sorting and grading units, assaying units, primary processing centres, ripening chambers, logistics facilities etc. The Scheme provides 3% interest subvention and credit guarantee support on loans up to ₹2 crore for eligible borrowers, subject to a maximum lending rate of 9% per annum. The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) promotes, holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic & medicinal plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa. The Scheme envisages support for creation of post- harvest management (PHM) and marketing for better price realization of produce. The Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) scheme supports creation and upgradation of scientific storage capacity and other agricultural marketing infrastructure through loan cum back-ended capital subsidy. These interventions strengthen the post-harvest value chain and help reduce post-harvest losses including in horticulture-producing regions.(b) : Under AIF, since July 2020 till date, total 1,184 projects with a loan amount of Rs. 598.90 crore have been sanctioned in Himachal Pradesh. The district-wise details of projects sanctioned, loan amount, loan disbursed is at Annexure-I. (c) : The State wise details of the infrastructure created under AIF including storage, cold chains, pack houses and grading units, is placed at Annexure-II. (d) & (e) : AIF is implemented uniformly across the country, including hilly and Himalayan States, to facilitate access to institutional credit for farmers, including small and marginal farmers, through eligible entities such as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Self Help Groups (SHGs), Marketing Cooperatives Societies. An online single-window of AIF Portal has been developed for application submission, approval and monitoring of projects under AIF. (f) : Under the AIF scheme, outreach activities are undertaken through State Governments, Central Programme Management Unit (CPMU), State Programme Management Units (SPMUs), Banks, NABARD, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Cooperatives, Self Help Groups (SHGs) etc. to inform and educate farmers about the benefits and provisions of the scheme by way of workshops, webinars, Krishi Melas, exhibitions, FPO interactions etc. As part of the outreach, handholding support for project identification, preparation of Detailed Project Report, bank linkage and portal-based application is also provided to prospective beneficiaries.Annexure-I District - wise detail of Projects sanctioned and Funds disbursed under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) in Himachal Pradesh Amount No. of No. of fully Sanctioned S. No. Disbursed District Sanctioned disbursed loan amount ( Rs. in Projects Projects (Rs in crore) crore) 1. Bilaspur 60 56 30.88 25.95 2. Chamba 7 5 6.29 3.79 3. Hamirpur 40 35 16.55 9.35 4. Kangra 144 128 110.60 68.19 5. Kinnaur 51 47 8.73 6.12 6. Kullu 159 156 18.35 9.98 7. Lahul and Spiti 2 1 0.11 0.03 8. Mandi 156 150 39.42 31.61 9. Shimla 333 316 150.09 84.01 10. Sirmaur 42 39 45.88 21.73 11. Solan 73 63 64.46 40.24 12. Una 117 109 107.54 77.54 Total 1184 1105 598.90 378.54Annexure-II State/UT-wise detail of infrastructure created under the scheme, including CA storage, cold chains, pack houses and grading units Details of all the sanctioned projects under AIF Total No. of Total Loan Total Project Cost Project State Sanctioned Sanctioned (in Crore) Projects (in Crore) Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1 0.30 0.34 Andhra Pradesh 6922 3,699.51 11,572.37 Arunachal Pradesh 6 7.75 21.03 Assam 856 1,144.40 2,148.04 Bihar 2680 1,984.29 3,223.55 Chandigarh 7 11.58 19.94 Chhattisgarh 4261 2,883.55 5,252.17 Delhi 22 27.23 45.88 Goa 42 53.96 84.07 Gujarat 6304 6,545.63 11,041.85 Haryana 11462 5,552.38 9,556.57 Himachal Pradesh 1184 598.90 950.24 Jammu and Kashmir 423 737.30 1,121.81 Jharkhand 753 627.02 989.94 Karnataka 5494 5,093.25 8,137.61 Kerala 5265 1,700.61 2,598.35 Ladakh 1 0.35 0.46 Madhya Pradesh 54632 12,329.55 19,185.05 Maharashtra 17646 10,603.78 18,370.24 Manipur 8 1.61 2.36 Meghalaya 6 17.80 34.60 Mizoram 2 3.07 3.96 Nagaland 7 12.57 16.94 Odisha 6126 2,749.12 4,520.09 Puducherry 15 11.40 17.77 Punjab 36259 8,512.54 13,076.06 Rajasthan 6544 4,895.13 8,123.67 Tamil Nadu 9974 3,617.58 5,465.66 Telangana 4877 5,955.52 10,026.33 The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 1 1.00 1.61 Daman and Diu Tripura 11 16.78 27.36 Uttar Pradesh 16994 9,799.04 16,736.74 Uttarakhand 779 776.71 3,684.74 West Bengal 9264 3,403.15 5,479.82 Grand Total 208,828 93,374.36 161,537.22 *****