Why is it in news?
- The State of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 report by the Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED) — released on Kisan Diwas (Dec 23, 2025) — finds that less than 25% of marginal farmers are active members of agricultural cooperatives, despite marginal farmers constituting ~60–70% of India’s agricultural households.
- The report assesses cooperative access and outcomes across six states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tripura, and Uttarakhand — and highlights structural exclusion, digital divides, and gender gaps within the cooperative ecosystem.
Relevance
- GS-III: Agriculture, Inclusive Growth, Rural Institutions
- Role of PACS, credit access, service-hub model, livelihood outcomes
- GS-II: Social Justice / Participation Gaps
- Gender exclusion, digital divide, elite capture, governance capacity
Key Facts & Data — Who are marginal farmers?
- Definition: Own < 1 hectare of land.
- Share in agrarian structure: 60–70% of farm households; backbone of smallholder agriculture.
- Yet only ~1 in 4 are cooperative members — signalling weak institutional inclusion.
Role of Cooperatives & PACS — Why they matter ?
- Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) = lowest tier of the cooperative system; closest interface for rural households.
- Provide credit, input supply, procurement & marketing channels, and increasingly digital/public services (PDS, e-governance links).
- Function as rural service hubs in several states → linked to better livelihood outcomes.
What the report finds ? — Evidence from Six States
- Low participation especially in Bihar, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh.
- Barriers to inclusion
- Complex membership procedures & documentation
- Long distances to PACS and weak last-mile presence
- Limited working capital → low service reliability
- Persistent social exclusion (caste, class, gender)
- Consequences
- Higher dependence on informal credit/markets
- Slower income growth, higher vulnerability to climate & price shocks
Digital Divide — Facts
- Tripura: 77.8% cooperatives use no digital tools
- Bihar: 25% cooperatives report zero digital adoption
- Digital use largely informational, not transformational
- Women & older farmers face skill constraints, limiting benefits.
Gender & Leadership Gaps
- Women members registered: 21.25 lakh (2.125 million)
- Women directors on cooperative boards: 3,355 → very low leadership conversion
- Barriers: restrictive norms, mobility limits, unpaid care burden → decision-making remains male-dominated.
Where access exists — Impact is measurable ?
- Income outcomes
- 45% cooperative-linked marginal farmers report income increase
- ~21% report decline/stagnation
- Livelihood security
- 49% members report improved security; ~16% remain insecure
- Financial inclusion
- 67% members access credit/financial services via cooperatives
- Productivity
- 42% report improved crop yields; 22.5% report decline
- States with PACS as integrated service centres show stronger positive outcomes.
Why are marginal farmers excluded?
- Institutional design gaps: procedures, documentation, capital constraints
- Geographical inequity: uneven spread of PACS, long travel costs
- Social hierarchies: elite capture, weak voice for women & marginal groups
- Capability deficit: limited digital literacy, low management capacity
- Policy-practice gap: cooperative reforms focus on scale, not inclusion.
Policy Relevance
- Strengthen last-mile cooperative presence in low-coverage districts
- Simplify membership & governance norms; ensure grievance & transparency
- Capital infusion + professionalisation of PACS operations
- Targeted digital capacity-building, especially for women & elderly farmers
- Promote integrated PACS (credit + inputs + procurement + services) to maximise impact.
