Sri Vijaya Puram, October 9: Eligible farmers, farmer groups and agricultural entrepreneurs in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands can seek a 50% credit-linked back-ended subsidy for setting up post-harvest infrastructure, including packhouses, cold storage facilities, refrigerated transport vehicles and primary processing units, under the Integrated Post Harvest Management (IPHM) project of the National Horticulture Mission.
The Department of Agriculture has invited eligible beneficiaries to approach the department’s zonal officers and extension staff in their respective jurisdictions to obtain application forms and guidance on accessing assistance under the scheme, implemented through the National Horticulture Mission under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).
The entrepreneur-driven scheme covers infrastructure for handling, packaging, grading, transportation, curing and ripening, as well as temporary and long-term storage of horticultural produce. Individuals, cooperatives, farmers’ groups, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) can apply, subject to eligibility requirements.
Under the assistance pattern, a farm-gate packhouse equipped with a movable handling trolley, sorting table and standalone cold storage unit can receive a subsidy of 50% of the project cost, capped at Rs. 12.50 lakh per unit. The prescribed unit size is 9 metres by 6 metres.
An integrated packhouse measuring 18 metres by 22 metres, with facilities such as conveyor-based sorting, grading, washing, drying, weighing, crate stacking, a dock leveller, pre-cooling where required, transit cold room and refrigerated van, qualifies for assistance of up to Rs. 80 lakh at the same subsidy rate.
Staging cold rooms are eligible for a maximum subsidy of Rs. 26 lakh, covering 50% of the project cost.
For Type-I cold storage facilities, the subsidy ceiling depends on the construction model. Units using civil construction can receive up to Rs. 4,800 per metric tonne, while those combining civil construction and pre-engineered buildings (PEBs) can receive up to Rs. 6,000 per metric tonne. Both categories have a maximum capacity limit of 5,000 metric tonnes. Type-II cold storage facilities using a combination of civil construction and PEBs also qualify for up to Rs. 6,000 per metric tonne, subject to the same maximum capacity.
Refrigerated transport vehicles qualify for assistance covering 50% of the cost, capped at Rs. 31 lakh for vehicles with a capacity of up to 14 metric tonnes. The subsidy will be calculated proportionately for smaller vehicles, with a minimum eligible capacity of 4 metric tonnes.
Primary or minimal processing units can receive up to Rs. 17.50 lakh per unit, but the component will be considered only when integrated with other MIDH scheme components.
For further information, interested beneficiaries can contact HVADA at the Directorate of Agriculture.
