₹1,000 crore investment opportunity for agribusiness infrastructure in Maharashtra

The department of agricultural marketing and protocol, government of Maharashtra, will take up large-scale modern agribusiness infrastructure under MAGNET 2.0 as part of its plan to position Maharashtra as a leading State not only in agricultural production, but also in processing, value addition and exports.

Addressing the MAGNET Agribusiness Infrastructure Investor Meet in Mumbai, minister for agricultural marketing and protocol and chairman of the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board Jaykumar Rawal announced an investment opportunity of more than ₹1,000 crore across six agricultural clusters covering banana, pomegranate, mango, citrus, cashew and turmeric. He invited the private sector to participate as a partner in developing the infrastructure and businesses required across these value chains.

The proposed infrastructure across the six clusters is planned for an annual handling capacity of approximately 6 lakh metric tons and more than 1 lakh metric tons of cold storage capacity. It will include integrated agri-logistics hubs, aggregation and grading facilities, cold chain, processing and value addition facilities and export-oriented infrastructure. 

An expression of interest for the proposed clusters will be invited shortly. “Maharashtra has a strong agricultural production base. The next opportunity lies in what happens after the produce leaves the farm, how we aggregate it, grade it, store it, process it, transport it and connect it with consumers in India and across the world. This is where we see a significant opportunity for the private sector to invest, operate, innovate and scale,” Rawal said.

The Investor Meet brought together senior Government officials, representatives of the Asian Development Bank, international diplomatic representatives, investors, agribusiness companies, financial institutions, exporters, processors, retailers and logistics companies to discuss the investment and infrastructure requirements of Maharashtra’s agricultural value chains. 

Rawal said MAGNET 1.0 had demonstrated the economic impact that investment in post-harvest infrastructure, finance, technology and stronger value chains could deliver. More than 280 sub-projects have been supported, over 47,000 metric tons of cold storage capacity created and more than 33,000 farmers covered through capacity-building activities. 

Around 2.32 lakh farmers have been directly impacted, of whom approximately 43% are women. Post-harvest losses in MAGNET crops have declined by around 8.73%. The project mobilized approximately ₹275 crore in private capital and generated around 4,300 direct jobs, with women accounting for around 48% of these jobs.

MAGNET 2.0 will substantially increase the scale of the program. With a total outlay of US$ 250 million and support from the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Maharashtra, the second phase expands coverage from 15 value chains to 23. It is expected to reach more than 4 lakh farmers, strengthen and incubate 200 farmer producer organizations and train 1.15 lakh members.

The second phase will focus on integrated infrastructure rather than individual assets. The proposed facilities will connect agricultural production centers with aggregation, grading, cold chain, processing, logistics, value addition and markets, addressing gaps that currently exist between different stages of the agricultural supply chain.

“This transformation cannot be achieved through Government investment alone. The Government will support infrastructure, finance, institutions and market systems, while the private sector brings capital, technology, processing expertise, operational capabilities, innovation and access to markets. We see the private sector as a partner in this transformation,” Rawal said. 

The proposed facility is intended to bring international buyers, exporters, logistics providers, cold chain operators, processors, technology companies and FPOs onto a common platform. The objective is to connect infrastructure being developed at production centers with demand in domestic and overseas markets and allow agricultural produce to move more efficiently from farms to aggregation and processing centers and onward to buyers.