Feed and Fodder Entrepreneurship Scheme, Mizoram (National Livestock Mission)

What is the Feed and Fodder Entrepreneurship Scheme in Mizoram?

The Feed and Fodder Entrepreneurship Scheme is the fodder value-addition window of the National Livestock Mission entrepreneurship programme, run by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, and delivered inside Mizoram by the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department, Government of Mizoram, acting as the State Implementing Agency (SIA).

The Mizoram AH&Vety Department publishes the scheme brochure on its own website alongside its Poultry Entrepreneurship Scheme, Piggery Entrepreneurship Scheme, Breed Multiplication Farm Entrepreneurship Scheme and its state SEDP material, which is why the scheme is commonly searched for as a Mizoram scheme. The money, however, is central, and the final approving authority is DAHD in Delhi.

The scheme funds a specific gap. Mizoram's livestock sector: piggery, poultry, cattle and mithun, depends on feed that is largely brought in from outside the state, and green fodder is seasonal. A commercial unit that can cut, preserve and store fodder as hay, silage, total mixed ration (TMR) or fodder blocks turns a seasonal surplus into a year-round product. The department's own field activity points the same way: it has floated expressions of interest for fodder development at Thenzawl and Hnahlan, and operates a fodder farm at Vaimim, Tualcheng.

What financial assistance is available?

A 50 per cent capital subsidy, up to a subsidy limit of Rs 50 lakh.

The brochure is precise about how the money moves. The subsidy is paid directly to the beneficiary's account through the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), in two equal instalments. It is a back- ended capital subsidy against a project that is otherwise financed by a sanctioned bank loan, so the entrepreneur does not receive the money before the unit exists.

What activities and equipment are supported?

Assistance is available for setting up a fodder value addition unit for:

• Hay making
• Silage making
• Total Mixed Ration (TMR) preparation
• Fodder block making
• Storage facilities for fodder

Machinery and equipment covered include balers, block making machines, TMR machines and equipment, forage harvesters, reapers, heavy duty power operated chaff cutters, and any other post-harvest technology equipment the project requires.

Indicative silage unit (2,000–2,400 MT per annum). The brochure's model component list is:

Indicative fodder block making unit (30 MT per day). The model list runs to twelve heads, including an LD-HD cutting unit with electric motor starter, panel board, V-belt and pulleys for low-density materials such as paddy straw; an HD-LD mixer with electric motor for high-density concentrate pre-mixes; two densified TMR block makers with electric motors, starter, hydraulic oil and cooling system; two platform electronic weigh scales; a main control panel with relays, meter, conduits, fittings and cable trays; two sets of double-thread stitching machines; a 2 MT molasses storage tank with an 80 kg overhead molasses tank; two sets of grinding section with elevator motor and a half-circle hammer mill of 2 MT per hour capacity; a mixing section with ground-material lifting elevator and paddle-type batch mixture; a 140 KVA generator set; a 60 x 50 x 20 ft machinery shed at Rs 200 per sq ft; and a 60 x 100 x 20 ft raw material storage shed at the same rate.

Who is eligible for the Feed and Fodder Entrepreneurship Scheme?

Eligible entities — you can apply if you are:

• An individual entrepreneur
• A Self Help Group (SHG)
• A Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO)
• A Farmer Cooperative Organisation (FCO)
• A Joint Liability Group (JLG)
• A Section 8 company

Selection criteria, all four must be met:

1. A trained entrepreneur, or an entrepreneur employing trained experts to run the project.
2. Own land or leased land for the unit.
3. A sanctioned loan, or a bank guarantee in a self-financed project.
4. Relevant documents for KYC.

You cannot apply if:

• You have neither owned nor leased land for the unit. Land is a selection criterion, not a preference.
• You have no training in the trade and do not intend to employ trained experts.
• You cannot obtain a loan sanction or a bank guarantee. Without a lender in the chain the process flow cannot progress past screening.
• You are looking for a personal cash grant rather than capital subsidy on a commercial fodder unit. This is an enterprise subsidy scheme; the money is released against a built asset, not against household need.
• Your proposed activity is livestock rearing rather than fodder value addition. Piggery and poultry are covered by the AH&Vety Department's separate entrepreneurship schemes.

How to apply for the Feed and Fodder Entrepreneurship Scheme

1. Prepare a Detailed Project Report for your unit, silage, hay, TMR, fodder block or storage, with capacity, machinery list against the indicative component tables, land details, costing and cash flow.
2. Fill in the online application form at nlm.udyamimitra.in. This is the only application route the brochure gives, and it is the same portal used for the other National Livestock Mission entrepreneurship windows.
3. Screening of the application by the State Implementing Agency, in Mizoram, the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department. Expect the department to check land papers, training credentials and the technical soundness of the DPR at this stage.
4. Loan sanction by the lender. The bank appraises the project and sanctions the term loan, or you produce a bank guarantee for a self-financed project.
5. Recommendation from the State Level Executive Committee (SLEC), which forwards the case with the state's endorsement.
6. Approval of subsidy by DAHD, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India.
7. Disbursement and release of subsidy to your account through SIDBI in two equal instalments.

Track your application on nlm.udyamimitra.in using the login you created at registration. For queries about the state screening stage, approach the Directorate of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, Aizawl, or your District Animal Husbandry office.

Why applications stall

• A weak Detailed Project Report. The screening stage is technical. A DPR that does not match the indicative component list to a realistic capacity is the most common reason a file goes back.
• Unclear land title. Own or leased land must be documented. In Mizoram this usually means a Land Settlement Certificate, periodic patta or a registered lease deed.
• No lender on board. The flow cannot reach SLEC without loan sanction or a bank guarantee.
• No training credential and no trained staff identified. The selection criterion is explicit on this point.
• Incomplete KYC for the applicant entity, which is a particular risk for newly formed FPOs, JLGs and Section 8 companies.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, Government of Mizoram, Aizawl, the State Implementing Agency. The brochure's own instruction for further help is to "contact State Animal Husbandry Department".
• Scheme portals: nlm.udyamimitra.in for the application, and dahd.nic.in for the national guidelines.
• Mizoram department site: ahvety.mizoram.gov.in, which carries this brochure, the Handbook of Schemes, and the poultry, piggery and breed multiplication brochures.
• Public grievances can be raised through the Public Grievance link on ahvety.mizoram.gov.in or on the central CPGRAMS portal.

No fee is payable to apply on nlm.udyamimitra.in, and no consultant can secure a subsidy approval. The DPR, the land papers and the lender's sanction do the work.