Reinventing the collective farm for equitable agrarian transformation

West Bengal, Bihar, and lowland Nepal are experiencing a multi-layered crisis due to climate emergencies, rising costs, out-migration, and labour shortages. The region’s vulnerability is closely tied to its agrarian structure, characterized by small, fragmented holdings and widespread tenancy, which hinder agricultural production. Many agricultural innovations are not suitable for small-scale farms, and the required capital investment is often unfeasible. Irrigation is challenging on fragmented plots, and women face barriers to accessing agricultural services and subsidies.

To address these issues, since 2015, Fraser Sugden from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, along with partners such as the Centre for the Development of Human Initiatives, Sakhi Bihar, North Bengal Agricultural University (UBKV), and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), have piloted flexible models of farmer collectives. These models involve pooling land, labour, capital, and skills to create larger farming units. Four farmer-led models have evolved, each tailored to different socio-economic contexts:

1. Model 1: High cooperation among tenants, pooling all labour on a collectively leased plot.
2. Model 2: Medium cooperation among tenants, with individual plots within a collectively leased area, cooperating for land preparation, irrigation, and marketing.
3. Model 3: High cooperation among small landholders (owning <1ha), pooling labour and consolidating plots voluntarily.
4. Model 4: Small landholders (<1ha) with adjacent fields, cooperating for land preparation and irrigation while working on their own plots.

The collectives serve as platforms for introducing new agricultural innovations, allowing farmers to overcome access barriers through pooled investments and knowledge sharing. For example, they are experimenting with natural farming practices. To ensure sustainability, groups have formed a ‘collectives’ federation’ at the village level, supporting dispute resolution, dialogue with extension agencies, access to government resources, and technical support. The federation also engages in bio-input production, such as vermicompost and neem oil.

An exciting opportunity is linking these collectives with Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs), which enhance market access and provide professional management. Two collectives federation members have joined an FPC, benefiting from higher-level support, including custom hiring services for agricultural equipment.

In summary, these models go beyond conventional cooperatives by promoting collective action across the entire agricultural cycle, offering a new path for agricultural intensification based on collective enterprise.