Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 Highlights Cooperative Access and Income Trends
Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 Report Released on Farmers’ Day
On Farmers’ Day (23 December), the Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED) released its flagship report, Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025, offering a ground-level assessment of the challenges and opportunities faced by India’s marginal farmers. The study examined the reach and effectiveness of agricultural cooperatives at a time when India is intensifying its focus on farmer-centric and inclusive rural development.
The study was conducted across six states—Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tripura, and Uttarakhand—and provides timely insights during the International Year of Cooperatives.
Report Launch and Key Stakeholders
The Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 report was launched at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, by Dr. Sanjeev Chopra (Retd. IAS), Former Director of LBSNAA and Chairperson of FEED, along with Dr. K.K. Tripathi, Joint Secretary, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), NITI Aayog.
The event was attended by Dr. Sudhir Mahajan, Chief Executive, National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), and Harveer Singh, Editor-in-Chief, Rural Voice.
Marginal Farmers and Cooperative Access
According to the Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025, marginal farmers account for nearly 60–70% of India’s farming households, yet they remain among the most vulnerable in the rural economy. The report finds that less than 25% of marginal farmers surveyed are active members of agricultural cooperatives.
Farmers outside cooperative networks are more dependent on informal markets, experience slower income growth, and face greater exposure to climate and market shocks.
Income Growth Where Cooperatives Are Active
A key finding of the Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 report is that 45% of marginal farmers associated with cooperatives reported income growth. These positive outcomes were more visible in regions where cooperatives actively supported input supply, procurement, credit access, and market linkage.
The report also foregrounds the lived experiences of marginal farmers, capturing their expectations from cooperative institutions and policy frameworks.
Limited Cooperative Participation Remains a Challenge
The study reveals particularly low cooperative participation in Bihar, Tripura, and Himachal Pradesh. Barriers include complex membership processes, distance from Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), limited capital availability, and social exclusion.
Expanding the Role of PACS
The Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 highlights that PACS are increasingly evolving into multi-service rural centers, moving beyond traditional credit provision. In several states, PACS now support input distribution, procurement and marketing, public distribution system delivery, and access to digital and public services.
States where PACS operate as integrated service hubs have shown better outcomes for marginal farmers.
Digital Adoption and Regional Gaps
Digital adoption remains uneven. The report notes that 77.8% of cooperatives in Tripura and 25% in Bihar reported not using any digital tools. Where digital systems exist, their role remains largely informational rather than transformative.
Limited digital literacy—especially among women and older farmers—continues to restrict the benefits of digitization.
Gender Gap in Cooperative Leadership
While over 21.25 lakh women are registered as cooperative members nationwide, only 3,355 women serve as directors on cooperative boards, the Status of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 report reveals.
Social norms, mobility constraints, and unpaid caregiving responsibilities contribute to this leadership gap, leaving decision-making concentrated among a small, predominantly male group.
Voices from the Margins: What Farmers Want
Marginal farmers interviewed for the study emphasized the need for:
- Greater awareness and outreach
- Simplified membership and service access
- Improved access to credit
- Better infrastructure and storage facilities
- Practical digital literacy support
- Gender-inclusive mobility and leadership pathways
Call for Systemic Reform
Speaking at the launch, Dr. K.K. Tripathi stressed the importance of digitizing PACS and strengthening human resource policies to build professional and future-ready cooperative institutions. He noted that digitalization must be supported by skilled personnel to effectively serve marginal farmers.
Dr. Sanjeev Chopra said the success of cooperatives depends on how accessible, inclusive, transparent, and responsive they are to the realities of marginal farmers. While the New Cooperative Policy (NPC) 2025 presents an ambitious roadmap, its success will depend on convergence across government schemes and collaboration between cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).
Harveer Singh, Editor-in-Chief of Rural Voice, said the report reinforces the continued relevance of cooperatives as a distinctive institutional model capable of delivering long-term change beyond market-driven solutions.
