Context: A new report titled State of Marginal Farmers in India 2025, released on Kisan Diwas (December 23) by the Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED), reveals that less than 25% of India’s marginal farmers are linked to agricultural cooperatives.
About State of Marginal Farmers in India 2025:
What it is?
- The State of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 is an empirical assessment by FEED examining how agricultural cooperatives, especially Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), serve marginal farmers (landholding < 1 hectare).
Key trends:
- Low cooperative inclusion: Less than 25% of marginal farmers are active cooperative members, despite marginal farmers constituting nearly 60–70% of India’s agricultural households, indicating deep structural exclusion.
- Regional disparities: Participation is particularly weak in Bihar, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh, reflecting uneven institutional reach and state capacity.
- Structural barriers: Complex membership rules, long distances to PACS, inadequate capitalisation and caste- and gender-based exclusion restrict marginal farmers’ access, pushing them towards informal credit markets.
- Digital divide: Digitisation remains limited — 77.8% of cooperatives in Tripura and 25% in Bihar reported no digital tool usage — with women and elderly farmers facing the greatest skill gaps.
- Gender leadership gap: While over 21 lakh women are cooperative members, only about 3,355 women serve as directors nationwide, highlighting symbolic inclusion without decision-making power.
- Positive outcomes where access exists: Among cooperative-linked marginal farmers, 45% reported income gains and nearly 49% improved livelihood security, underscoring the transformative potential of inclusive cooperatives.
Relevance for UPSC syllabus
- GS Paper I (Indian Society):
- Issues of social exclusion, gender inequality and marginalisation in rural institutions.
- GS Paper II (Governance):
- Role of cooperatives, decentralised institutions, inclusive service delivery and public policy design.
- GS Paper III (Agriculture & Economy):
- Agricultural credit, institutional reforms, rural livelihoods, informal vs formal finance.
