Context:

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the continuation of Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF), launched in 2020-21, to be implemented under Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) with an outlay of Rs.29,610.25 crore for another three years up to 2025-26. 

About AHIDF Scheme: Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund 

Establishment: It has been announced under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan stimulus package as a Central Sector Scheme for ensuring growth in infrastructure of Animal Husbandry. 

• Aim:  To create wealth creation in the livestock sector
• Eligibility: The following entities will be eligible under AHIDF:
  • Farmer Producer Organization(FPO) 
  • Private companies 
  • Individual entrepreneurs 
  • Section 8 companies 
  • Micro Small and Medium Enterprises
• Credit Guarantee: GoI will also provide credit guarantee to the MSME and Dairy Cooperatives up to the 25% of the credit borrowed from the Credit Guarantee Fund of Rs.750 crore.
• Interest Subvention: Government of India (GoI) will provide 3% interest subvention for 8 years including two years of moratorium for loan up to 90% from the scheduled bank and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), NABARD and NDDB.

Benefits of AHIDF Scheme

• Employment Generation: The AHIDF scheme will be a channel towards employment generation directly and indirectly to 35 lakh people through entrepreneurship development.
• Increase In Productivity & Farmers Income: The investment by incentivisation in AHIDF would leverage private investment 7 times and would also motivate farmers to invest more on inputs thereby driving higher productivity leading to increase in farmers income.

Achievements of AHIDF Scheme

• Increase of processing capacity by 2-4% in the dairy, meat and animal feed sector.
• The AHIDF has so far created an impact by adding 141.04 LLPD (Lakh Ltr. Per Day) of milk processing capacity, 79.24 lakh metric ton of feed processing capacity and 9.06 Lakh metric ton of meat processing capacity by adding to the supply chain since the inception of the scheme. 

Future Potential Of AHIDF Scheme

• Infrastructure Upgradation: After inclusion of new activities like technologically assisted breed multiplication farms, strengthening of veterinary drugs and vaccine units, etc., the scheme will exhibit a huge potential for the upgradation of infrastructure in Livestock sector.
• Opportunity In Animal Husbandry Sector: It is an opportunity for the investors to invest in the Livestock sector making this sector a lucrative one ranging from value addition, cold chain and integrated units to technologically assisted Livestock and Poultry farms, etc.

Conclusion

• AHIDF scheme is emerging as a path towards achieving the goal of doubling farmers’ income, tapping the livestock sector by bringing the private sector investment, bringing in the latest technologies for processing and value addition, and contributing to the Nation’s economy by promoting the export of Livestock products. 
• Such investments in processing and value addition infrastructure would also promote export of these processed and value-added commodities.

   Also Read: Rashtriya Gokul Mission

News Source: PIB

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