Rooting for Resilience

Across India’s vast farmlands, millions of small and marginal farmers—owning less than two hectares—face an uncertain future. Despite feeding the nation, they remain trapped in poverty due to systemic challenges. Erratic rainfall, worsened by climate change, rising input costs, limited market access, and exploitative middlemen create a harsh reality. Policy exclusion and reliance on subsidies deepen dependency. The banking system, disconnected from farmers’ needs, rarely provides affordable credit, forcing many into high-interest informal loans. This debt cycle perpetuates poverty.

This article explores how enterprise, responsible business, and institutional reforms, alongside post-COVID opportunities, can empower smallholders for long-term resilience, dignity, and prosperity, drawing on past reforms and global goals to advocate for a vibrant rural economy.

Web of Challenges

Small and marginal farmers, over 85 per cent of India’s agricultural population, cultivate nearly 45 per cent of the net sown area (Agricultural Census 2015-16). Yet, small landholdings yield insufficient returns for a decent livelihood. Without reliable irrigation, they depend on erratic monsoons, where a single crop failure spells financial ruin. Rising costs for fertilisers, seeds, and fuel shrink margins, leaving little for reinvestment (RBI Handbook, 2022).

Lacking storage or value-addition infrastructure, farmers sell at distress prices to meet urgent needs. Only seven per cent access the Minimum Support Price (MSP), with most facing fluctuating, middleman-manipulated local prices (Shanta Kumar Committee, 2015). Institutional exclusion further limits their bargaining power or policy influence (NIAM, 2020). Post-COVID disruptions exacerbated these issues, with supply chain breakdowns and market closures forcing distress sales at rock-bottom prices.

Banking and Credit Trap

India’s banking system fails small farmers, with less than 30 per cent accessing institutional credit (NABARD, 2016-17). Many rely on moneylenders charging exorbitant rates, limiting investments in inputs or infrastructure. Meanwhile, large agribusinesses enjoy easier credit access, with public banks writing off around Rs 10.09 lakh crore, mostly for corporate defaulters, between 2014 and 2022 (RBI, 2022). This credit inequity underscores the need for inclusive financial reforms. Post-COVID, digital lending platforms have emerged, offering quicker, farmer-friendly credit access, though scalability remains a challenge.

Freebies or Freedom?

Subsidies like free electricity, loan waivers, or PM-KISAN provide temporary relief but foster dependency over empowerment. They trap farmers in mono-cropping, chemical-intensive practices, and debt cycles, degrading the environment and limiting income diversification. Welfare must shift from handouts to stepping stones for self-reliance, enabling informed decisions, market access, and risk management. Post-COVID, government schemes like e-NAM (National Agriculture Market) have expanded digital marketplaces, reducing reliance on physical mandis (wholesale markets) and offering farmers better price discovery, though digital literacy gaps persist.

From Farmer to Agripreneur

To break the poverty cycle, small farmers must become agripreneurs, managing diversified, market-oriented businesses. This shift restores control, dignity, and choice, moving beyond subsistence farming. Agripreneurship enables risk management, innovation, and market responsiveness. Post-COVID, the rise of e-commerce platforms like AgriBazaar and Ninjacart has opened direct-to-consumer and business-to-business markets, bypassing middlemen. Digital tools for weather forecasting and price tracking further empower farmers to make informed decisions.

However, entrepreneurial skills—business planning, marketing, and value chain management—are often lacking. Programs like the Startup Village Entrepreneurship Program (SVEP) provide training but need scaling. Poor infrastructure, including roads, storage, and digital connectivity, hinders progress.

FPOs and Collective Models

Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) enhance smallholders’ bargaining power. But of over 10,000 registered FPOs, few are financially sustainable due to limited capital, weak governance, and inadequate support (SFAC, NABCONS, 2022). Comprehensive support—finance, technology, mentorship, and market linkages—is essential. Post-COVID, FPOs have leveraged digital platforms to aggregate produce and access urban markets, with some partnering with e-commerce giants for direct sales. Supported FPOs can boost income security, promote agroecology, empower women, and build sustainable enterprises, but long-term investment is needed.

A New Social Indenture

Corporates must evolve from extractive buyers to responsible partners in inclusive ecosystems. The Public-Private-Producer Partnership (4P) model fosters collaboration among businesses, governments, and farmers. Post-COVID, corporates have invested in traceable, resilient supply chains, partnering with FPOs for organic and climate-resilient commodities. Transparency, legal safeguards, and equitable benefit-sharing are critical. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds should prioritise rural infrastructure, youth training, and local hiring. Market-linked innovations, scaled with FPOs and Self-Help Groups (SHGs), can transform farmers into value-added producers. For instance, post-COVID demand for organic and immunity-boosting products has spurred corporate tie-ups with smallholders for turmeric, millets, honey and other organic goods, creating new income streams.

An Enabling Ecosystem

India’s 1991 economic reforms spurred urban growth but bypassed rural producers, leaving them in low-income livelihoods. A “Rural LPG 2.0”—emphasising Localisation, Participation, and Green Growth—is needed. Reforming banking to prioritise credit for SHGs, cooperatives, and FPOs, and simplifying MSME compliance, would formalise rural businesses. One-stop facilitation centres could provide legal, financial, and technical support. Securing land and resource rights for forests, grazing lands, and water bodies would support sustainable enterprises.

Post-COVID, policies promoting digital agriculture—e-NAM, Kisan e-Mitra chatbots, and drone-based input delivery—have reduced middleman dependency and enhanced market access (APEDA, 2025). However, rural digital divides require targeted interventions to ensure inclusivity.

Scope of Organic Promotion

The present era offers immense scope for organic farming, driven by global demand for sustainable, chemical-free produce and India’s push for green agriculture. Government initiatives like the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development promote organic certification and market linkages, targeting 2 million hectares under organic cultivation by 2025 (Refresh Your Life, 2024). Export markets, particularly in the EU and US, value certified organic goods like millets and spices, with India’s organic exports reaching USD 1.2 billion in 2024 (APEDA, 2025). Opportunities abound for FPOs to aggregate organic produce and partner with global brands, leveraging certifications like NPOP (National Programme for Organic Production). However, scaling requires investment in training, certification infrastructure, and soil health programs. Policies aligning with post-COVID consumer trends—favouring health-conscious, traceable products—can position small farmers as key players in global organic markets, enhancing incomes and sustainability. Aligning these reforms with post-COVID realities can unlock rural potential, fostering a resilient, green rural economy.

Organic Shift and Transparent Value Chains

The Organic Shift and Transparent Value Chains open a window for responsible corporates to partnering with small and marginal farmers for promoting organic farming and aligning with global values. This shift, accelerated post-COVID, responds to markets valuing chemical-free, climate-resilient produces (Refresh Your Life, 2024). Certifications such as NPOP and Fairtrade are critical, ensuring compliance with global standards, enhancing market credibility, and securing premium prices for farmers (APEDA, 2025).

Transparent supply and value chains are equally vital, leveraging block chain and digital traceability to verify organic integrity from farm to consumer (Appventurez, 2024). Such transparency builds trust, ensures equitable benefit-sharing, and protects smallholders from exploitation. Corporates are investing in training farmers for organic practices and certification processes, while CSR initiatives support soil health and biodiversity. By co-developing certified organic value chains with FPOs and SHGs, businesses enable farmers to transition from raw produce sellers to value-added producers, fostering sustainable agriculture and economic resilience. This alignment with international organic values strengthens India’s position in global markets, empowering farmers with sustainable livelihoods.

Aligning with SDGs

India’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) commitments align with empowering small farmers. Rural enterprises advance SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by boosting incomes and food security. Agro-based value chains support SDG 8 (Decent Work), while inclusive strategies reduce inequalities (SDG 10). Sustainable practices align with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Post-COVID, global demand for sustainable, traceable food systems offers smallholders opportunities to integrate into fair-trade and organic markets, enhancing India’s role in a greener, fairer future.

From Survival to Prosperity

India’s agricultural future depends on the prosperity of small and marginal farmers, the backbone of its rural economy. They seek fairness, voice, and opportunity, not handouts, aspiring to thrive with dignity. Post-COVID opportunities—digital platforms, e-commerce, and resilient supply chains—offer transformative potential, enabling farmers to bypass middlemen, access urban markets, and meet rising demand for sustainable products.

A new agricultural growth model is achievable, fostering entrepreneurship, ensuring just markets, and holding corporates accountable. Governments, donors, and civil society must build a supportive ecosystem with responsive institutions, empowering policies, and long-term investments. By shifting from short-term relief to resilience, and dependency to dignity, we can break rural poverty, unlocking India’s agricultural potential for a just, thriving, and sustainable future. DTE

The writer is an Independent Researcher, Livelihood and Natural Resource Governance. Views expressed are personal