Mulkanoor village in Telangana
The cooperative is built with its farmer-members, with almost zero non-performing assets (NPAs), with nearly 90% of its employees also belonging to farming families from the same community, according to the villagers. The cooperative has its own godown which takes care of the quality of the produce and other requirements, which makes us self-reliant,” said Bollampally Kumar Swamy (45), a farmer. Hyderabad: In Mulkanoor village of Hanumakonda district, farmers have access to most of what they need for cultivation within the village itself and are now preparing to send their branded rice to the US. From seeds and fertilisers to farm equipment, credit and a market for their harvest, the Mulkanoor Cooperative Rural Credit & Marketing Society brings these services under one roof. “We don’t have to deal with the brokers or step outside of the village for agricultural solutions. His family has been associated with the cooperative for three generations now. Owning three acres in the village, he is also one of the directors on its board.
Suresh Cheekatla, a spine surgeon working in Hyderabad who jointly owns over 35 acres with his family in the village, said, “Our farm produced around 900 bags of paddy, weighing about 40 kg each, last year, which was about 405 quintals. Despite the impact of El Nino this year, I’m expecting to harvest around 750 bags,” he said. We get seamless loans with one-day processing at interest rates as low as 7% for crop loans, 10% on medium- and long-term loans, but the support extends beyond agriculture with support for children’s education, medical bills and other expenses,” Swamy said. Established in 1956 with 373 members and share capital of ₹2,300, the society now has more than 7,500 members.
He attributed the yield to the assistance of borewell management over the years. “A small farmer has to take a loan and cannot survive on their own unless they are a land baron.