Women-Led Farming Cooperatives in the Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR)

Women’s Role in EHR Agriculture

• Women contribute over 70% of agricultural labor in the region.
• Active in horticulture, sericulture, and livestock farming.
• Shifting cultivation (Jhum) involves extensive female participation in sowing, weeding, and harvesting.
• Challenges faced:
  • Gender biases & socio-economic barriers.
  • Limited access to credit, land ownership & decision-making power.
  • Lack of institutional support restricting their entrepreneurial potential.

Women-Led Cooperatives: Empowerment through Collective Action

• Solution to gender disparity: Women’s cooperatives provide leadership roles, economic opportunities, and financial independence.
• FAO Insights: Women-led cooperatives contribute to three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
  • No poverty (SDG 1)
  • Gender equality (SDG 5)
  • Economic growth (SDG 8)
• How cooperatives help:
  • Resource pooling & skill-building.
  • Market linkages for better profits.
  • Improved access to institutional support & training.

Women’s Leadership in Cooperatives

• Traditional community cooperatives in EHR were male-dominated due to resource control.
• Recent shift: Women-led models like SEWA Bharat & Prabhavana demonstrate success in tackling gender-based barriers.
• Government Support:
  • Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act (2002) & Ministry of Cooperation (2021) have encouraged women’s participation.
  • Assam’s Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojna (MKSP) (2016-17) empowered 12,500 Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
  • Meghalaya’s Pla Tangka Cooperative Society (PTCS) (2025) aims to strengthen financial access for SHGs.

Impact of Women-Led Cooperatives

• Manipur (Ukhrul District): Ringyuichon Vasum organized SHGs, providing microcredit for organic farming, poultry, embroidery, and weaving. Over 13,000 women benefited, reducing reliance on illicit logging.
• Nagaland (Chizami Village): Seno Tsuhah, a social activist, promoted handloom weaving among local women, providing a steady income & upward mobility.
• Tripura: Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura (JUST), through the FARM Northeast program, enabled women farmers to gain autonomy in food production and strengthened food security.

Challenges and the Way Forward

• Persistent barriers:
  • Infrastructure gaps & limited credit access.
  • Traditional societal norms restricting leadership roles.
• Policy Enhancements Needed:
  • Strengthen regional coordination: Ministry of Cooperation (MoCOOP) should collaborate with the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region (MDONER) & North Eastern Council (NEC).
  • Capacity building: Training in modern farming techniques, financial literacy, and leadership.
  • Market integration: Facilitating direct producer-market linkages to reduce middlemen.
• Encouraging Progress:
  • Women’s participation in cooperatives increased from 2021-2024.
  • Localized training programs needed to further enhance equitable access.

Women-Led Cooperatives as a Force for Change

• Beyond agriculture: These cooperatives serve as agents of social transformation & economic resilience.
• Key to EHR’s growth: In agrarian-dependent states, scaling the cooperative movement can:
  • Boost economic resilience & food security.
  • Enhance gender equity & leadership opportunities.
  • Drive sustainable rural development.
• Future Outlook: With strong policy backing & grassroots empowerment, women-led cooperatives can become the cornerstone of EHR’s socio-economic progress.