Sri Vijaya Puram, May 19: The Agriculture Department of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration has urged farmers, entrepreneurs and self-help groups across the islands to avail subsidy support under the Integrated Post Harvest Management project aimed at strengthening storage, transportation and processing infrastructure for horticultural produce.
Officials said the assistance is being provided under the National Horticulture Mission component of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) to improve post-harvest management systems and reduce losses faced by growers.
According to the Department, the entrepreneur-driven scheme offers credit-linked back-ended subsidies for activities including handling, packaging, grading, curing, ripening, transportation and long-term storage of horticultural produce.
The project also covers establishment of infrastructure such as pre-cooling units, farm gate pack houses, mobile pre-cooling units, cold rooms, cold storage facilities, refrigerated transport vehicles and primary processing units.
Officials stated that eligible beneficiaries include individuals, cooperatives, farmers’ groups, Farmer Producer Organisations and self-help groups.
Under the scheme, assistance of up to 50 percent of project cost is available for farm gate pack houses equipped with movable handling trolleys, sorting tables and standalone cold storage units, subject to a maximum subsidy of Rs 12.5 lakh per unit.
Integrated pack houses equipped with conveyor belt sorting systems, grading units, washing and drying facilities, weighing scales, cold rooms and reefer vans are eligible for subsidy support of up to Rs 80 lakh.
For staging cold rooms, beneficiaries can receive subsidy assistance of up to Rs 26 lakh.
The Department also announced subsidy support for cold storage infrastructure under different categories, including facilities built using civil construction and pre-engineered building structures with refrigeration systems, electrical installations and fire safety provisions.
Officials said the subsidy assistance for cold storage projects would be linked to storage capacity, with support available for facilities up to 5,000 metric tonnes.
Refrigerated transport vehicles with capacities ranging from 4 metric tonnes to 14 metric tonnes are also covered under the project, with subsidy support of up to Rs 15.5 lakh per beneficiary.
Primary and minimal processing units integrated with other MIDH components are eligible for subsidy support up to Rs 17.5 lakh.
The Department said the initiative is aimed at improving the post-harvest supply chain in the islands, where climatic conditions and geographical isolation often affect storage, transportation and shelf life of agricultural produce.
Officials noted that lack of adequate cold storage and processing facilities frequently results in losses for growers, particularly during peak harvest periods and inter-island transport delays.
The Administration believes that strengthening post-harvest infrastructure can improve market access for farmers, reduce wastage and enhance income generation through value addition and better preservation systems.
Interested beneficiaries have been advised to approach zonal officers and extension staff of the Agriculture Department in their respective areas for applications and guidance regarding the subsidy schemes.
Further details are also available through the Horticulture and Vegetable Development Assistance unit under the Directorate of Agriculture.
