Kalpana Rai, Rachana Sanani, Anita Rana — members of Ruru Multipurpose Cooperative, Nepal. Credit: Heifer International
By Neena Joshi and Balasubramanian Iyer
KATHMANDU, Nepal / NEW DELHI, India, Aug 21 2025 – “The future of agriculture lies not in the hands of a few giants, but in the joint hands of many.”
This quote captures the spirit of farmer cooperatives—values-driven, collectively run enterprises rooted in solidarity and self-help. As global food systems grow more fragile and inequitable, cooperatives offer a compelling model: putting people before profits, and communities before corporations, while advancing social equity, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability.
Globally, more than 1 billion people—about 12% of the world’s population are members of over 3 million cooperatives. The largest 300 cooperatives report an annual turnover exceeding USD 2.4 trillion, nearly 2.3% of global GDP.
These cooperatives provide job opportunities for 280 million people—roughly 10% of the world’s employed population (World Cooperative Monitor, 2023). Notably, 105 of the top 300 cooperatives operate in the agriculture sector, operating across the agricultural value. chains.
By organizing through cooperatives, smallholder farmers amplify their voice and bargaining power. By pooling resources, they build collective capital and reduce dependence on external funding—especially vital in today’s shrinking development-aid landscape. The cooperative model enables farmers to emerge as a thriving, resilient workforce, thereby transforming food systems.
India’s iconic Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) illustrates this well. Formed in 1946, AMUL played a central role in India’s White Revolution and is now part of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF). AMUL ensures 80% of prices paid by consumers go directly to the farmers—empowering over 3.6 million milk producers, many of them women who’ve gained financial independence and acquired leadership roles.
Rashida Begum, member of Nawdagram Nari Agrogoti Samity in Bangladesh. Credit: Heifer International
Other powerful examples in Asia include Japan’s National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Association, known as Zen-Noh, and South Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) or NongHyup. Zen-Noh represents over 1,000 agricultural cooperatives in Japan and plays a central role in procuring inputs, distributing products, and exporting Japanese rice and other produce internationally.
It exemplifies how cooperative federations can integrate vertically and optimize logistics, marketing, and innovation to serve their members.
In South Korea, NongHyup serves around 2.5 million farmer-members across more than 1,100 local cooperatives. As one of the world’s largest multipurpose cooperatives, it combines agricultural marketing, banking, insurance, and technical support.
Through its financial services arm alone, NongHyup supports over 70% of the country’s population, making it a linchpin of rural development and economic security.
Nonprofit organizations also play a critical role in enabling farmer cooperatives to thrive. Heifer International in Asia, active in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia, supports farmer cooperatives through training, market integration, and financial access as the core of its program model. These efforts not only boost productivity but also position farmers as agents of change.
Heifer’s work with apex cooperative bodies like Nepal’s Social Entrepreneurs Women’s Alliance (SEWA) and Cambodia’s Social Entrepreneurs Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (SEUAC) is transforming the agricultural landscape. SEWA represents women-led cooperatives, advancing inclusive policy advocacy, innovation, and market access.
In Cambodia, SEUAC, formed with government support in 2021, unites 22 cooperatives across six provinces, benefiting over 12,000 farmers through improved services, infrastructure, and representation.
Tulsi Thapa, President of Bihani Social Entrepreneurs Women’s Cooperative in Nepal and SEWA’s Central Joint Secretary, is one such changemaker. “I come from a humble farming family and never imagined I’d lead hundreds of women,” she says. A Heifer initiative in 2012 catalysed her journey from subsistence farming to cooperative leadership.
Today, Bihani has over 1,400 members and an annual turnover exceeding USD 540,000. The cooperative has diversified into dairy, goat trading and livestock feed, with access to over USD 198,000 in affordable loans.
Yet challenges remain—from limited access to insurance and fair markets to deep-rooted gender norms. “Progress starts with agriculture,” Tulsi says. “Farmer-friendly cooperatives can spark rural economic revolutions.”
Smallholder farmers do more than feed the world—they help heal it. As climate change continues to destabilize agriculture, cooperatives foster climate-smart, regenerative practices that build community resilience.
Their impact directly advances the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
The global community is beginning to recognize the cooperative potential. The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives under the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World.”
In response, Heifer in Asia, in collaboration with the International Cooperative Alliance Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP), has launched a regional campaign: Seeding Strength: Empowering Farmer Cooperatives.
Spanning Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, the campaign showcases cooperatives as drivers of the three P’s – people, profits and planet, with a clarion call to attract resources in strengthening the cooperative model in Asia.
Nevertheless, cooperatives cannot transform food systems alone—they need an enabling ecosystem. Governments must design supportive policies, while financial institutions create inclusive products tailored to smallholders, especially women.
The private sector can modernize supply chains and introduce sustainable technologies, and NGOs play a vital role in building local capacity and visibility. Media, academia, and engaged citizens also have a role in championing cooperatives—not merely as business units, but as transformative forces for rural upliftment.
As we commemorate the International Year of Cooperatives 2025, now is the time to recognize and resource farmer cooperatives as essential players in building a just, food-secure, and climate-resilient future where no one is left behind.
Neena Joshi is the Senior Vice President – Asia Programs at Heifer International. With over 20 years of experience, she leads initiatives to build inclusive, sustainable agrifood systems and empower smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, across Asia.
Balasubramanian (Balu) Iyer is the Regional Director of the Asia-Pacific office of the International Cooperative Alliance. He has over three decades of experience in international development, with a focus on cooperative development and regional operations across Asia.
IPS UN Bureau
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