Development of Manures & Fertilizers: Assistance for Construction/Installation of Vermi-Compost Units

What is the vermi-compost unit assistance in Goa?

Development of Manures and Fertilizers is a scheme of the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa, and its Vermi-compost Units component pays a subsidy to farmers who build or install a vermicomposting unit on their land.

The purpose is practical. A Goan farm produces field waste and farm waste continuously, and that waste is either burned, dumped or left to rot. Passed through earthworms in a properly built unit, the same waste becomes a chemical-free farm input. The Directorate frames the component as converting available on-field and farm waste material into farm resources for organic farming.

The subsidy comes in two forms, depending on what you build:

• Masonry or built units: 75% subsidy limited to Rs 1,950 per cubic metre, for all categories of farmers, against a standard cost of Rs 2,600 per cubic metre.
• Portable HDPE units: 90% subsidy on the standard cost fixed, up to a maximum of Rs 7,500 per farmer, for a maximum of 3 units.

Key features

• Standard cost of Rs 2,600 per cubic metre, of which 90% is construction or installation including mason cost and 10% is the cost of earthworms and similar inputs.
• Subsidy paid through the Electronic Clearance System (ECS).
• Krishi Card is the gateway document for the whole scheme.
• Applications routed through the Zonal Agriculture Officer.
• Institutions and private limited companies in agriculture are eligible too.

Who is eligible for the vermi-compost subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer carrying out agricultural activities in the State of Goa and you hold a Krishi Card.
• You are an institution or private limited company involved in agricultural activities and you hold a Krishi Card.
• The unit you propose meets the construction specification the Directorate lays down.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You do not hold a Krishi Card. This is the single hard gate. The Krishi Card abstract heads the document list.
• Your agricultural activity is outside Goa.
• Your proposed unit does not meet the specification, for example, a pit dug below ground level, or one without a cement floor and water outlet.
• You are claiming for more than 3 portable units, which is the published cap.

What must the vermi-compost unit look like?

The Directorate specifies the structure closely, and a unit that does not match it will not clear inspection:

• One or more pits, with or without internal chambers.
• Built above ground level.
• Constructed of bricks, laterite stones, cement blocks, shahabadi or kadappa, or RCC cement rings.
• A cement floor with a proper water outlet.
• Clean internal side walls and proper ant-proofing.
• Protected from sun and rain, and from birds, lizards and rodents that feed on earthworms.

For the portable route, the unit must be a vermibed or vermicomposting bin of HDPE material, of 100 litres and above, laid on a prepared hard surface free from sharp objects, and protected in the same way. A maximum of 3 units per farmer is considered for subsidy at 90% of the standard cost, capped at Rs 7,500 per farmer.

How much subsidy do I actually get?

The standard cost for a vermi-compost unit is Rs 2,600 per cubic metre, and the 75% subsidy at Rs 1,950 per cubic metre is calculated on that figure: not on whatever a contractor charges. A farmer who builds a more expensive unit bears the difference.

What documents are required?

The last item is the one farmers most often get wrong. The design and estimates of approved models must be submitted prior to construction or installation — building first and applying afterwards puts the claim at risk, because the Directorate approves the model before the work.

How to apply for the vermi-compost unit subsidy

1. Visit your Zonal Agriculture Officer and request a hard copy of the prescribed application form from the staff entrusted with issuing and collecting filled-in applications.
2. Obtain the design and estimates of the approved model you intend to build or install, and submit these before starting construction or installation.
3. Fill in all mandatory fields in the application form and attach self-attested copies of the Krishi Card abstract, the Soil Health Card, the cash invoice and the design and estimates.
4. Submit the duly filled and signed application form with the documents to the Zonal Agriculture Officer, within any period the Directorate prescribes.
5. Await scrutiny and sanction. The subsidy is then paid through the Electronic Clearance System into your bank account.

Why claims get reduced or rejected

• No Krishi Card, which closes the scheme entirely.
• Design and estimates submitted after construction, so the model could not be approved in advance.
• Unit built below ground level, or without a cement floor and water outlet.
• No ant-proofing or protection from birds, lizards and rodents, which the specification treats as essential to keeping the earthworms alive.
• Portable units below 100 litres, or more than 3 units claimed.
• Cash invoice missing, so the admissible subsidy cannot be worked out.
• Claim calculated on actual cost rather than standard cost, the subsidy is fixed at Rs 1,950 per cubic metre regardless of what the unit cost to build.

How to get a Krishi Card

The Krishi Card is issued by the Directorate of Agriculture and is the identity document for a Goan farmer across the Directorate's schemes, not just this one. If you do not hold one, obtain it from your Zonal Agriculture Officer before preparing a vermi-compost application, because the Krishi Card abstract is the first document on the checklist.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa: phone 0832-2465848.
• Your Zonal Agriculture Officer, who issues the form, receives the application and is the first point of contact on sanction status.
• agri.goa.gov.in, for scheme guidelines, Krishi Card information and circulars.
• Department of Agriculture page on goa.gov.in, for the official directory.

There is no fee to apply, and no agent is involved. Any interpretation question on the scheme's terms, or a request for relaxation of a condition, is decided by the Directorate and the Government, not at the zonal office.

How to check your application status

The vermi-compost subsidy under Development of Manures and Fertilizers is processed offline through the Zonal Agriculture Officer, and Goa's Directorate of Agriculture does not run a public online tracker where you can enter an application number and see a status. Status follow-up works differently at each stage:

1. After submission, before sanction. The Zonal Agriculture Officer who received your form is the only point of contact for where your file sits, whether it has been scrutinised, and whether your design and estimates were approved. Visit the zonal office in person or call ahead, and quote the date you submitted the form along with the applicant name and Krishi Card number, since the office does not issue a separate acknowledgment number for this scheme.

2. After sanction, before payment. Once your application is sanctioned, the subsidy is credited through the Electronic Clearance System directly to your bank account. Check the bank account you registered with your Krishi Card and application for the ECS credit; the Zonal Agriculture Officer can confirm whether sanction has been issued and, if so, when the ECS payment was released, if the credit has not appeared.

3. If there is no movement for an extended period. Escalate beyond the zonal office to the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa, on 0832-2465848, referencing the scheme name, the Zonal Agriculture Officer's office you applied through, and your submission date.

4. Watch for a construction-stage hold. Because design and estimates must be approved before you build, a delay at this stage often means the model you submitted has not yet been cleared, not that the whole file is stuck. Confirm with the zonal office whether the delay is at the design-approval step or the final sanction step before assuming the application has stalled, since starting construction before approval is itself a reason a later claim gets rejected.

There is no SMS alert or email notification system attached to this scheme, so the applicant carries the responsibility of following up rather than waiting for a notice.