What El Nino? This ground up farmers’ cooperative continues to reap dividends

The Mulkanoor Cooperative Rural Credit & Marketing Society brings most farming needs into one village-based system. Farmers can obtain seeds, fertilisers, equipment, credit, storage, quality checks and a buyer for their harvest without relying on brokers. This matters because small farmers often struggle with loans, uncertain markets and crop quality losses.

The cooperative supplies seeds before cultivation and purchases paddy after harvest. Its godown stores produce and helps protect quality. Farmers also receive bonuses of ₹200-400 per quintal above the minimum support price. Loans can be processed in one day, with crop-loan interest as low as 7%. Support also covers education, medical bills and other expenses.

The society has grown from 373 members in 1956 to more than 7,500. It sells Telangana Sona and Jai Sriram rice and is preparing a 25-tonne shipment to the United States, subject to regulatory clearances.

The Mulkanoor Cooperative Rural Credit & Marketing Society began in 1956 with 373 members and share capital of ₹2,300. It has since expanded to more than 7,500 members. That growth shows how a village institution can become a major economic platform when farmers continue to use and support it.

Its scale is not only about membership. The cooperative now supplies seeds through a dealer network, offers credit, stores produce, checks quality and buys harvests. Nearly 90% of its employees come from farming families in the same community. Villagers also report that the society has almost zero non-performing assets, meaning very little of its lending has become unpaid or problematic.

The larger membership gives the cooperative a stronger base for marketing branded rice. It sells Telangana Sona and Jai Sriram and is preparing exports with a US-based cooperative. Its expansion now reaches beyond village and state markets, subject to regulatory clearances.

The cooperative supports farmers across the entire crop cycle. Before planting, it provides seeds and access to fertilisers and equipment. During cultivation, it offers crop loans with one-day processing and interest as low as 7%, plus medium- and long-term loans at 10%. It also helps with children’s education, medical bills and other expenses.

After harvest, the cooperative’s representatives check quality and its village godown stores the produce. The society then purchases the crop, giving farmers a dependable market instead of forcing them to search for buyers. It pays the minimum support price plus bonuses of ₹200-400 per quintal. Seeds are also supplied through a dealer network, extending the cooperative’s reach.

These services reduce delays and uncertainty for farmers. They can stay in the village rather than travel for solutions or negotiate with brokers. The cooperative’s nearly zero NPAs and community-based workforce help sustain this system, while its branded rice creates a route to wider markets.

El Niño is a recurring warming of surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The article does not define it, but established climate science links it to shifts in atmospheric circulation. These shifts can change rainfall patterns across regions, bringing drought in some places and unusually heavy rain in others.

For farmers, weaker or delayed rainfall can reduce soil moisture, reservoir levels and groundwater recharge. Water shortages may limit irrigation and weaken crop growth. Excess rain can also damage standing crops. Paddy is especially dependent on reliable water, so disrupted rainfall can affect yields, planting decisions and farm income. The exact effect differs by location and season.

The article notes that Suresh Cheekatla expects about 750 bags this year despite El Niño, compared with 900 bags last year. He credits long-term borewell management for supporting production. This suggests water management can help farmers cope, but it cannot remove climate-related risk.

The cooperative model reduces several risks at once. Farmers do not need to depend on brokers for agricultural solutions or buyers. Instead, the society provides inputs, credit and a market within the village. This matters especially for small farmers, whom Swamy said cannot survive independently without borrowing unless they own very large holdings.

The mechanism is practical. The cooperative gives seeds before planting, checks quality through representatives and stores harvested grain in its own godown. It then buys the produce and pays MSP plus ₹200-400 per quintal. One-day loan processing and crop-loan rates as low as 7% also reduce financing pressure. Better storage helps prevent quality concerns from weakening prices.

Farmers therefore face less uncertainty about inputs, repayment and sales. The cooperative also gains collective strength to brand and market rice. Its planned exports may bring another advantage: overseas prices could be 10-15% above domestic prices, subject to clearances and demand.

The cooperative is preparing to export Telangana Sona and Jai Sriram rice because it sees a market among Indians living in the United States, especially the Telugu diaspora. Exporting would take Mulkanoor’s branded products beyond Telangana and give farmers access to customers who may already know these rice varieties.

The cooperative has partnered with the US-based HarvestLink cooperative to explore this opportunity. Its first shipment will contain 25 tonnes of rice. The products are being prepared for dispatch, while regulatory clearances remain necessary. This partnership gives the village society a route into the American market rather than requiring it to build every overseas connection alone.

Profitability could come from premium pricing. The cooperative expects its rice to earn 10-15% more than domestic prices in overseas markets. Success will depend on obtaining approvals, maintaining quality and reaching the expected diaspora demand. Dispatch is expected within a month, subject to regulatory clearances.

An agricultural cooperative is a member-based organisation through which farmers pool resources and make services available collectively. Members can share access to seeds, equipment, loans, storage and markets. The model matters because individual smallholders often have limited bargaining power, high costs and little influence over buyers or lenders.

Mulkanoor shows how this works in practice. Its farmer-members support a society that supplies seeds, provides credit and buys harvests. The cooperative checks quality, stores produce in its godown and sells branded rice. By combining farmers’ needs and output, it can organise services that would be difficult for one farmer to provide alone. Members also help govern it through the board.

Collective ownership can improve security by reducing dependence on brokers and uncertain buyers. It can also support better prices, including bonuses above MSP and possible export premiums. Mulkanoor’s growth from 373 to more than 7,500 members demonstrates the model’s reach, while its near-zero NPAs indicate reported financial strength.