The study examines marginal farmer’s cooperative engagement as cooperatives act as catalysts for poverty reduction, livelihood security, and rural transformation.

• Marginal farmers, defined as cultivators owning less than one hectare of land, constitute approximately 65.4% of farmers but they hold only 24% of cultivable land area.
  • They are among most vulnerable due to constraints related to landholding size, access to credit, inputs, markets, and public services.
  • For them, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and agricultural cooperatives serve as the most proximate and consequential institutional touchpoints for meeting essential agricultural and livelihood needs.

Common Barriers affecting Cooperative Engagement

• Farmer Level Constraints: Limited knowledge of schemes and benefits, lengthy and bureaucratic processes, long distances to cooperative offices, low digital skills etc.
• Funding Constraints: Inadequate capital and insufficient credit availability at PACS level limits service delivery and expansion. E.g. in Uttarakhand and Maharashtra.
• Lower Cooperative Service Uptake: Influenced by limited local capacity, fewer trained staff, and geographic or logistical barriers.
• Infrastructure Deficits: Inadequate physical facilities hinder operations and shallow digitalisation reduces transparency and outreach. E.g. In Uttarakhand.
• Gender Gaps: Cooperatives remain male dominated spaces, even in regions where women are core contributors to agriculture and household economic activity.