Launch of “The State of Marginal Farmers Report 2025” : A Report
The Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED) in collaboration with Institute of Social Sciences and other partner organizations launched its study, The State of Marginal Farmers Report 2025: Assessing Cooperative Societies’ Engagement and Business.
Diversification Strategies Across India, through a workshop held earlier this week. The event came at a particularly relevant moment, held on National Farmers Day (December 23) and aligning with the United Nations’ International Year of Cooperatives. The discussion touched upon policy framing, cooperative development, evolving role of marginal farmers in India’s agrarian economy as well as the further need and potential of the growing synergy between cooperatives and panchayats.
The workshop was opened by the session anchor, Suryamani Roul, who reflected on the broader question of how policies should be discussed and framed in the Indian political context. Emphasizing the need for context-sensitive policymaking, Roul noted that cooperatives offer a unique space where the small and marginal farmer can participate in collective growth. He also showed enthusiasm for next year’s UN theme of women farmers. The speech ended with an acknowledgement of the contributions of organizations like ISS.
Panel Discussion I
The first panel discussion brought together experts from the cooperative sector, policy circles, and journalism to explore the report’s findings.
Dr. Sanjeev Chopra
The panel began with the keynote address which was delivered by Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, Chairman of FEED, who gave a historical perspective to the Indian experience in agriculture and cooperatives. He mentioned his recently published article in The Print titled, Charan Singh Exposed Failures of Soviet Collective Farming and Saved Indian Agriculture– where he commented upon the work of Chaudhary Charan Singh, who was the first to distinguish the concept of cooperative farmers from cooperative farming. The cooperative farming model failed in the USSR and China, only succeeding in Israel. This was because farming involved many factors: pre-production, production, marketing, and chain of value production. International discourse at that time supported cooperative farming and big landholdings. India would not have succeeded by following the same agricultural model. Chaudhary Charan Singh warned not to undermine the strength of the small farmer. He advocated for small farmer empowerment through Zamindari abolition, debt reduction, decentralization, and so on.
Dr. Chopra aptly stated, “it is the contest of ideas, not individuals, that makes a democracy.” He then recounted the Congress split and swarajists, mentioning Chaudhary Charan Singh’s Book: Joint Farming X-rayed: The Problem and Its Solution. The book took data from organizations like FAO and studies from universities to evaluate if joint farming should be practiced in India. In order to understand the discourse taking place among leaders at that time, it was important to highlight the context of the US and the West, where surplus land, capital and lack of labor power was the complete opposite of the Indian agricultural scenario.
Following Chaudhary Charan Singh’s idea, other pioneers such as Pratap Singh Kairon and GB Pant- the CMs of Punjab and UP respectively- brought important changes in Indian agriculture.
They realized that the western concept of collective farming was not practical in the context of
India, thus Indian agriculture should not be capitalist and Zamindar-based. Vinoba Bhave (Bhoodan Movement) played a critical role in collection and redistribution of land. The success of the Green Revolution can be attributed to the presence of middle farmers. It was the revolutionary thinking of Indian leaders that made this model of farming successful in the Indian context.
Dr. Chopra concluded with some thoughts on the present report, where he emphasized that the power of small and marginal farmers must not be underestimated and that a real understanding of rural context and ground realities remains essential to create meaningful change. He acknowledged its importance in capturing the perspectives of women, marginal farmers, and government in the form of facts and data, not just anecdotes. It was therefore a much needed contribution to the “cerebral understanding of agriculture in India”.
Dr. K K Tripathi
The next speaker, K K Tripathi, Joint Secretary, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM), NITI Aayog- delineated issues highlighted in the report. He began by noting that there are currently around 8.54 lakhs cooperatives in the country. However, the distribution was varying in different states. Awareness about cooperatives was highest in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana because of the presence of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACs).
He referred to the 2022 initiative to digitize over 66,000 PACS as a significant step forward. However, the spread of the cooperative movement was skewed. Success of cooperatives depends on grassroots level. There needs to be greater harmonization of act and procedure. Since the 1970s, a major issue was that membership remained stagnant. Effort is required for social mobilization, and online registration is needed. The waiting period of registration varies from state to state- this duration needs to be shortened. Surveyors also need to pose the right questions. Dr. Tripathi also gave the example of the dairy sector to explain the issue of digital divide in cooperatives. Moreover, he pointed out an operational human resource gap in emerging cooperatives and cited the under-implementation of the MSMED Act, 2006, as a concern.
Cooperatives also need to have a data stack. More data and bigger samples are required. For example, farmers practicing animal husbandry and maintaining fisheries apart from farming also need to be taken into account. Dr. Tripathi ended his speech with the suggestion that the government should identify our regional clusters agroclimatologically.
Dr. Sudhir Mahajan
Dr. Sudhir Mahajan, CEO of the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), spoke next, highlighting how the cooperative movement has evolved in the institutional realm. He described cooperatives as fundamentally sound business models that empower farmers to operate as entrepreneurs. The UN as well as the Indian government saw the importance of cooperatives, resulting in the creation of a ministry in 2021. Dr. Mahajan spoke of the pathbreaking shift of NCUI towards cooperatives. He said that an important step was recognizing that cooperatives are business enterprises. NCUI is looking into how farmers can learn business and marketing through collaborations with civil society, academia such as IIT and GDC (German Development Cooperation). Dr. Mahajan elaborated on the work of AEEE (Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy- an Indian organization that works on creating awareness about energy efficiency as a resource) on solar-powered warehouses, which marked a shift from traditional to technological solutions. He talked about replicating these models in other states. Agro-ecology experts also agree that integrated farming is necessary. Dr. Mahajan further stressed on the need for an export worthy and export ready chain. The main challenge faced by the market for organic farming is the lack of a facilitating model. He spoke on the importance of e-commerce platforms exclusively for cooperatives. He ended with a mention of cooperative kitchens, and the need for more such initiatives.
Mr. Harvir Singh
Mr. Harvir Singh, senior journalist, focused on the ground reality and reflected on agricultural complexities and the limited control farmers have over variables such as market prices and climate. He agreed that the model of cooperatives is unique and an important model for India since it serves as one of the few resilient frameworks capable of transforming the lives of smallholders. Citing the successes of Amul and IFFCO, Singh emphasized that effective cooperatives balance economic viability with insulation from political influence. He noted that consistent policy support would be necessary to sustain the momentum created by the new Ministry of Cooperation. A bottom-up approach, he argued, remains critical for wealth creation and long-term sustainability.
Presentation: Insights from the BSLD Model
Mr. Sandeep Ghosh presented on the BSLD (Bihar Sustainable Livelihood Development) Project. He introduced the BSLD as an institutional model designed to strengthen cooperatives and rural livelihood systems. Data from the project suggested that PACS offering multiple services tend to perform better than single-service models, providing lower costs and higher income outcomes. Mr.. Ghosh discussed the definition and condition of marginal farmers- those cultivating less than one hectare- who comprise roughly 70% of India’s agricultural households. Despite their numerical dominance, they remain underserved in terms of access to credit, markets, and cooperative membership. The BSLD findings highlighted a performance and awareness gap in PACS, with digital adoption notably higher in Karnataka and Uttarakhand compared to Bihar. He identified (a.) lack of awareness, (b.) distance and (c.) procedural complexity as primary reasons for low cooperative participation. According to the data, 50% farmers were interested in becoming members, showing that awareness is the key issue. He suggests targeted awareness campaigns and simplified registration processes as potential solutions.
Mr. Ghosh then focused on a case study of 100 women members across 10 women-led Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). The data showed social as well as economic gain for women. There was evidence of high aggregation power, and climate resilience practices taken up by women farmers. He stated that there has been systemic change, and this case study is a replicable best practice. Finally, Mr. Ghosh outlined FEED’s eight proposed measures to strengthen marginal farmers’ integration into cooperatives. Of these, he emphasized the proposal for closer collaboration between cooperatives and Gram Panchayats as central to enhancing institutional coherence at the grassroots level.
PANEL DISCUSSION II
Suryamani Roul noted some recommendations and approaches to be explored by the government, including cluster approach value chain and panchayat participation. He recounted examples of the Ambuja foundation and Meghalaya value chain. There is a need for incubation support and block approach. He also mentioned the 2025 cooperation policy.
Anjani Kumar Singh
Anjani Kumar Singh, associated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation applauded how the interest of the poorest of poor has been brought up by FEED. There are three Ms hindering agriculture in India: Market, Moneylenders, and Monsoon. In the report, Singh noted that membership had a regional delta. The report also gives conviction to act towards building more cooperatives. The core principles of cooperation have been enshrined in SHGs, FPOs, etc. Singh voiced his concern on the fact that building institutes takes time. He asked- do we need them to be separate or can we integrate them with existing institutes?
He then moved on to the issue of how cooperatives can be integrated with the market and supply chain. He stated that digitization of cooperatives can be transformative. His concluding message was that an overall benchmark can be set if one cooperative can learn from another.
Dr. Sumit Pal
Dr. Sumit Pal, agri-scientist and ICAR awardee- spoke on the importance of promoting entrepreneurship. He mentioned P3M and the need for capacity building. Helping indigenous farmers through training can turn them into agri-entrepreneurs that can impart services for production and post harvest. Dr. Sumir noted that one crucial way of promoting Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) is by providing storage. He mentioned how interest has been shown in this regard by those outside government institutes, indicating towards private companies. His concluding message was inspired by the Sadhguru- aiming for what is healthier for farmers and consumers.
Mr. Nishi Kant Dixit
The next speaker was Mr. Nishi Kant Dixit, a Senior Practitioner at Transforming Rural India
Foundation (TRI). Although brief, he shared insight into the importance of Cluster-Level Federations (CLFs) and PACs. He then highlighted the role of seeders as FPOs and how helpful they can be for farmers in terms of accessibility. His concluding message was to strive for better services for our community.
Mr.Sanjay Malik
He was followed by Sanjay Malik, a senior agronomist who started his speech by warning that it is not just a need, but a crisis that requires the immediate adoption of sustainable agriculture. He focused on the analysis of the data and listed his key takeaways:
- Agriculture as the next phase and the need for transforming agriculture through the food systems approach
- Observing that only 10% of all cooperatives become successful/viable and how looking at sustainability and quality of FPOs can make them successful in the long run
- Cooperatives can no longer be donor/ngo driven—economies of scale demand that expertise and resources are integrated
His concluding message was regarding the importance of food export zones and agro ecological zones.
Ms. Rina Soni
The next presentation was by Ms. Rina- finance and social impact professional- who focused on what makes the BSLD Project successful by providing data from the project. A cluster approach/model was followed, and the women participating were from the ultra poor section.
The project was able to build a social and personal transformation journey for the women. Forming a pass-on group created a snowball effect of empowerment. Ms. Reena gave the example of the goat value chain to show how the project was promoting grassroots philanthropists. The entrepreneurial model was successful in bridging the last mile gap in the service industry. Here, she elaborated on the farmer field school model where a catalyst farmer entrepreneur helped others learn. Women were at the heart of the program throughout. The last slide was titled “Herding Hope”, which encapsulated the impact on the lives of women and their transformative journey. Ms. Reena concluded with the next objectives they were looking at, such as the incorporation of outcome based funding.
PANEL DISCUSSION III
The concluding Fireside Panel focused on women’s empowerment for agrarian transformation a
Ms. Gayatri Kapoor
The first panelist, Gayatri Kapoor, Consumer research expert associated with Seniors In Seva, who was working on connecting retired professionals and incorporating pro bono work in 60 FPOs. This includes consulting independent organizations like FEED. She spoke on barriers for women- vision, mission, and incentives for joining FPOs. There is a need for corporate ideas and private sector/out-of-the-box thinking. Her suggestions for next year’s FEED report were efforts towards more women respondents, and qualitative as well as quantitative data from market research.
When asked about her insights on the report, she mentioned the Pratham Survey as an example for designing surveys. She also called for more representation to measure change across similar benchmarks.
Ms. Bhamini Jain
The next speaker in the panel was Bhamini Jain, an interdisciplinary researcher and consultant, who focused on the subjects of energy, finance, and sustainability. She gave special regard to the interests of farmers, consumers, as well as prosumers (producers who are also consumers) in terms of livelihood, health, and climate. Further, she appreciated the political economy lens of the report. She questioned that while women might be members or Board of Directors (BoD) in cooperatives, their role in decision-making might be lacking. This issue should also be highlighted. There must be an effort to go from symbolic representation towards action. She also showed concern for the increased workload of women in the rural sector, and the incentives needed to encourage them to join cooperatives.
Her suggestions and insights for the report included revisiting the overall principle for policy making- taking into consideration if the policies are designed for women, and whether training and capacity building is provided for not just women, but also men, without which social transformation will remain incomplete. Gender sensitization should not be just for the sake of representation. Cooperatives only empower women when the social structure supports it.
Bhamini Jain concluded by stating the importance of institutional knowledge transfer and intergenerationality. She called for structural inclusion of women as well as the youth in policies to spread social awareness and capacity building.
Concluding Observations
While cooperatives remain critical to enabling marginal farmers’ economic participation, structural reforms, institutional collaboration, and participatory governance must evolve in tandem. The report reinforced the continued relevance of cooperatives as both a social and economic strategy for rural development. Subsequent discussions further emphasized the need to focus on women, livelihood and community outreach. The session ended with Mr. Manoj Rai, CEO and Executive Director of ISS- congratulating marginal farmers, to whom the report is dedicated. He thanked the speakers and audience for being a part of the event.
