Assistance for Establishment of On-farm Storage for Sorting-Grading

What is Assistance for Establishment of On-farm Storage for Sorting-Grading?

Assistance for Establishment of On-farm Storage for Sorting-Grading is a post-harvest management component of the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat, implemented by the Directorate of Horticulture through the state's iKhedut portal. The component shares the capital cost of building a structure on the farm where harvested horticulture produce is sorted, graded and held before it moves to market.

The problem it addresses is post-harvest loss. Fruit and vegetables harvested in Gujarat's summer heat deteriorate within hours if they sit in the open. Produce that goes to market ungraded is sold as one lot at the price of its worst fruit, and damaged units still pay full transport. A shaded, ventilated on-farm structure lets the grower separate grades, discard rejects at the farm gate, and hold the crop until the day the price is better.

What the component does

• Shares the capital cost of a farm-level sorting, grading and storage structure.
• Cuts post-harvest loss, the largest single leak in Indian horticulture income.
• Improves price realisation by letting the grower sell by grade rather than as a mixed lot.
• Gives the farmer a small amount of holding power, so the crop need not be sold on the day of harvest at whatever the market offers.
• Pays through Direct Benefit Transfer into the applicant's own account.

How much money does the scheme give?

Gujarat's post-harvest horticulture components follow the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) cost norms. For functional infrastructure for collection, sorting, grading and packing, the MIDH norm is 40 per cent of project cost in general areas, with a higher share in notified hilly and scheduled areas.

Two things to understand before you budget:

1. The subsidy is a share of admissible cost, not of whatever you spend. If your estimate exceeds the notified unit cost, you carry the excess yourself.
2. It is a back-ended reimbursement. You build first from your own funds or a bank loan, and the subsidy arrives after verification. Farmers who plan on the subsidy paying for the construction get caught out here.

The rupee ceiling per unit is re-notified with the annual component list on iKhedut, so the governing figure is the one shown in the component you actually apply under.

Who is eligible for on-farm storage assistance?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Gujarat and an active farmer or horticulture grower.
• You hold land in your own name on which the structure will stand, evidenced by 7/12 and 8-A records.
• You grow horticulture produce; fruit, vegetables, spices or flowers, that the structure will serve.
• You have a bank account in your own name for the DBT credit.
• You apply within the notified iKhedut window and build only after pre-sanction.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not own or lawfully hold the land. Labourers and unrecorded tenants are not eligible to claim in their own name.
• The 7/12 and 8-A do not carry your name, and no consent letter from the recorded holders is filed.
• You are a trader, commission agent or market-yard operator seeking assistance for trading infrastructure. This is a farm-level component.
• You have already drawn assistance for the same structure under this or another scheme. Double subsidy on one asset is not allowed.
• You built before sanction and cannot produce a pre-approval.

What documents are required?

How to apply on iKhedut

1. Open ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in, go to Schemes and select Horticulture schemes (bagayati yojanao).
2. Find the component for on-farm storage / sorting-grading infrastructure and click Apply. Say whether you are already a registered farmer on iKhedut; if not, register and set a password through OTP verification.
3. Fill the application; survey number, proposed structure size, estimated cost, bank account details and Aadhaar number — and attach the estimate. Submit it.
4. Confirm the application. An unconfirmed application is not treated as filed, and this is the step most applicants skip.
5. Print the confirmed application, sign it, and attach self-attested copies of the 7/12, 8-A, Aadhaar, bank passbook, the estimate and, where relevant, a caste certificate.
6. Submit the signed printout with documents at your taluka or district horticulture office within the days allowed on the acknowledgement, and keep the stamped receipt.
7. Wait for the pre-sanction (purva manjuri). Begin construction only after it is issued, and keep every bill in your own name.
8. On completion, file the claim with the original bills and request physical verification by the horticulture staff.

How to apply offline

1. Visit the taluka agriculture or horticulture office, or a Village Computer Entrepreneur / Gram Panchayat e-Gram centre, and ask them to file the iKhedut application for you.
2. Carry Aadhaar, the 7/12 and 8-A, bank passbook, the costed estimate and your mobile phone for the OTP.
3. Collect the printed application, sign it, and hand it in with the documents at the horticulture office counter against a receipt.

The offline route still creates an iKhedut record. There is no separate paper-only sanction channel.

How to check your application status

1. Open ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and select Application status (arji ni sthiti).
2. Enter your application number with the registered mobile number or Aadhaar number, then submit.
3. The screen shows confirmation, receipt of the physical copy at the office, and whether pre-sanction has been issued.
4. After completion and verification, watch your bank statement. If nothing is credited weeks later, ask the district horticulture office for the DBT release date and the file number.

Why claims get rejected

• Application not confirmed on iKhedut.
• Physical copy not submitted in time with the documents.
• Construction started before pre-sanction, making the claim post-facto.
• Bills not in the applicant's name, or bills without GST or dealer details.
• Structure built smaller than sanctioned, or in a different survey number from the one in the application.
• Name mismatch across Aadhaar, bank account and the land record.
• Same asset already subsidised under another scheme.
• District target exhausted, in which case a valid application is held pending or carried forward.

Where to get help

• iKhedut portal: ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in: components, application and status.
• Directorate of Horticulture: doh.gujarat.gov.in, circulars, district horticulture office contacts and centres of excellence.
• Taluka or district horticulture officer, the practical first stop for a stuck sanction or a pending verification.
• Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551, toll free.

Applying on iKhedut is free, and the subsidy is paid only into a bank account, never in cash.