New Delhi, Sept. 1 -- The government is set to expand the use of digital technology to deliver agricultural services and foster greater private sector participation in schemes run jointly with industry. Public-private partnership (PPP) schemes and projects run by the Centre and states will be integrated into the agricultural investment portal, Krishi Nivesh, as part of broader e-governance measures aimed at improving service efficiency and plugging leakages, according to two people familiar with the development. Krishi Nivesh is an integrated portal to attract, guide, and support investments in agriculture and allied sectors by simplifying access to schemes, data, submission of investment proposals, and tracking of approvals. "There are many PPP schemes and projects across the Centre and state governments that remain scattered, and private entrepreneurs are often unaware of them. Integrating these into Krishi Nivesh will create a one-stop platform for availing benefits while attracting new investment," said one of the people cited above. India's agriculture sector continues to face infrastructure gaps in post-harvest facilities such as cold storage, warehouses, processing units, and logistics. Government estimates suggest 6% of crops suffer post-harvest losses annually, amounting to around Rs.1.2 lakh crore. With limited public funds, PPP is seen as a way to mobilise private capital and expertise to bridge these gaps. "The integration of PPP projects on Krishi Nivesh portal will go a long way in attracting investment in the agriculture sector as the private players can access all the information pertaining to all the PPP schemes at a single place and at the same time they can submit their application and monitor its progress online," said Nutan Kaushik, director general, Amity Food and Agricultural Foundation. Launched on 3 September 2024, the integrated agri investment portal is primarily overseen by the ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare. It has already integrated schemes from nine ministries and onboarded 19 programmes, including the agriculture infrastructure fund, animal husbandry infrastructure development fund, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna. Planned inclusions on the platform include key central PPP schemes such as Agriculture Value Chain Development, Agro Processing Park, and Agri Export Zones. These aim to open opportunities for private investors to collaborate with the government on critical infrastructure, such as warehouses, agro-parks, and primary processing units. "In the near future, we have plans to onboard more ministries and departments of the Centre and state pertaining to agriculture and allied activities, to streamline investments, boost transparency, and improve access to benefits for farmers and businesses," said the second person. Query sent to ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare on Friday remained unanswered till press time....