NABARD lunches new Warehousing Scheme

By Haryananewswire

CHANDIGARH, OCT 8

 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has introduced Rs. 5000 crore "NABARD Warehousing Scheme" for providing assistance for creation of storage infrastructure in the country.

          While stating this here today, an official spokesman said that the scheme titled "NABARD Warehousing Scheme" 2013-14 (NWS) approved in the Budget 2013-14, envisages direct loans to Public and Private sector for construction of Warehouses, Silos, Cold storages and Cold Chain infrastructure. He said that funds under this scheme would be utilized for meeting the growing demand for storage capacity for agricultural commodities in the entire country and also in the wake of enactment of National Food Security Act 2013.

He said that in Haryana, there is an estimated requirement of about 2.2 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) for warehouses and in Punjab, a storage gap of 2.5 MMT is estimated for warehousing. Both the states also have potential for promoting modern cold storage and cold chains for potatoes, other vegetables, and milk products. The scheme could be effectively utilised for reducing this storage gap and ensuring proper scientific storage of agriculture commodities, he added.

He said that it is expected that about 10 MMT of additional modern storage would be created out of funding from NWS 2013-14 which would benefit implementation of National Food Security Act, 2013-14 as well as help farmers in terms of better price realisation and post harvest loans.

         He said that storage Infrastructure projects of  State Governments, State Government undertakings, Cooperatives, Federations, Cooperative federations, State level boards, apex marketing boards or bodies, Panchayats, private companies and private entrepreneurs would be provided loans from this scheme. He said that the warehouses and cold storages created from this scheme would be compliant to Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) norms, which could facilitate pledge loan against stored commodities. This could help the farmers for better price realisation by way of storage and avoiding distress sale, he added.