Mulkanoor Cooperative Society: Seven decades of service to farmers

Established on July 27, 1956, to address farmers’ difficulties in accessing credit, agricultural inputs and markets, the Mulkanoor Cooperative Rural Credit and Marketing Society Ltd. has grown into a multi-service cooperative supporting agriculture and rural livelihoods. Located in Mulkanoor village of Bheemadevarapalli mandal (Old Karimnagar district) the society serves 14 villages and has 7,540 members.

Founded by A K Vishwanatha Reddy with 373 farmers and an initial capital of Rs 2,300, the society emerged against a background of agrarian distress, including the hardships faced by farmers during the Nizam’s rule. Its model was built around collective ownership and access to credit and agricultural services.

The cooperative is claimed to be Asia’s largest cooperative bank. Its model has attracted interest from foreign delegations, universities and the World Bank.

Financial performance and credit

The society provides agricultural loans alongside input supply, procurement, processing and marketing services. It reported a turnover of Rs 407.77 crore in 2024–25 and disbursed Rs 123.08 crore through 13,836 loans. Its reported loan-recovery rate was 99.07 per cent, with zero non-performing assets for the period.

An ICRA rating report published in October 2025 recorded 7,540 members and a loan portfolio of Rs 138.4 crore as of March 31, 2025. A separate historical financial statement lists turnover of Rs 426.63 crore, reserves of Rs 194.95 crore, net profit of Rs 7.22 crore, share capital of Rs 18.56 crore, deposits of Rs 70.96 crore, loans to members of Rs 149.53 crore, investments of Rs 44.72 crore and assets of Rs 58.43 crore. The reporting period for these figures should be confirmed before publication.

The society follows the cooperative principle of one member, one vote. Historical accounts state that loans were offered at interest rates of around 7 per cent, depending on the applicable scheme and period.

Agricultural infrastructure and services

The society has developed facilities for storing, processing and marketing agricultural produce. These include 44 warehouses with a combined capacity of 56,334 metric tonnes, two rice mills, a cotton-ginning unit, six seed-processing plants, 18 procurement centres and 19 weighbridges. It also operates 18 agricultural-input outlets, a fuel station and an LPG dealership.

It supplies seeds, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs through its distribution network, working with suppliers including IFFCO, KRIBHCO and Nagarjuna. These services connect farmers with inputs, storage and markets at different stages of production.

The cooperative has also been involved in rural infrastructure initiatives, including drinking-water provision, electricity facilities and watershed programmes supported by NABARD. According to its historical account, drinking-water facilities benefited around 40,000 people, while electricity-related support extended across its 14 villages.

Seed production and marketing

Seed production and marketing are among the society’s major activities. It supplies farmers in Telangana and neighbouring states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha.

In 2024–25, it reported marketing approximately 11,695 tonnes of seed, with an estimated coverage of 4,30,605 acres. Its six seed-processing machines have a stated combined capacity of 23 tonnes per hour. Agricultural officers and technical staff support production, dealer coordination and farmer complaints.

Society president Aligireddy Praveen Reddy said arrangements were being made to export seeds to the United States, Arab countries and other countries.

Earlier figures supplied by the society refer to seed operations across around 60 villages, turnover of Rs 55 crore and marketing of two lakh quintals. These figures relate to a separate reporting period that needs clarification. Historical material also records the annual supply of more than 30 tonnes of foundation seed to Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University for 13 paddy varieties.

The society says it addresses complaints through replacement arrangements and reports a seed-failure complaint rate of less than 1 per cent. It has discussed possible seed exports to the United States and Arab countries, although the information available does not establish that these exports have begun.

Rice milling and cotton processing

The society markets rice varieties under names including Mulkanoor Rice, Sona Masoori, Jai Sri Ram and Telangana Sona. Revenue from rice, broken rice and rice bran reportedly rose from Rs 16.79 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 45.03 crore in 2024–25. Revenue from cotton lint and cottonseed was reported at Rs 18.96 crore in 2024–25.

The cooperative has also considered exporting rice to the United States. This is a separate proposal from the potential seed exports.

Women’s dairy cooperative

The Mulkanoor women’s cooperative dairy was established in 2002 with technical assistance from the National Dairy Development Board. As of March 31, 2026, it had 206 primary societies and 23,450 women members, according to the figures supplied. It operates eight milk-chilling units, while its processing facilities have an installed capacity of 1.5 lakh litres a day.

Member welfare and rural livelihoods

The society provides insurance-related services, medical camps, funeral assistance, scholarships, pensions and other welfare benefits. It has acted as a corporate agent for the Life Insurance Corporation of India since 1978–79. Eligible members with 35 years of membership can receive a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 under the stated scheme.

For 2024–25, the society reported welfare expenditure of approximately Rs 2.97 crore across 1,520 beneficiary entries. Figures provided for 2025–26 list Rs 13.56 crore in member benefits, including Rs 3.67 crore in bonuses, Rs 2.78 crore in dividends at 15%, Rs 3.42 crore in interest on thrift deposits and more than Rs 2.79 crore in insurance, scholarships, pensions and other welfare support.

A total of Rs 60.73 crore in member benefits includes Rs 46.50 crore attributed to the Telangana government’s loan-waiver programme. These figures should be checked against the relevant annual reports to confirm their periods and avoid double-counting government support.

The society’s network also includes 338 women’s thrift societies with 153,730 members and 236 men’s thrift societies with 110,797 members. The A.K.V.R. Rural Development Society was established in 2000.

The society further claims that in its 14 villages recorded no farmer suicides or loan defaulters and that migration declined. These claims reflect the society’s account of its social impact and have not been independently verified.

Leadership and recognition

Praveen Reddy assumed leadership of the cooperative in 1987. He studied agricultural science and pursued postgraduate management education, later representing Husnabad as an MLA from 2009 to 2014.

The society and its leadership have received recognition from cooperative and agricultural institutions. The awards cited in its historical material include the KRIBHCO Sahakarita Vibhushan in 2005, recognition from the National Cooperative Union of India and National Council for Cooperative Training in 2006, a NABARD award in 2012 and the National Cooperative Development Corporation’s Cooperative Excellence award in 2014. Further recognition was reported in 2015, alongside awards or acknowledgements associated with Sahakar Bharati and the Andhra Pradesh Cooperative Union. The founder was named Manager of the Year by the Hyderabad Management Association in 1981, according to the historical account. Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, Former Vice-President of India Krishna Kant, former Chief Ministers Marri Chenna Reddy, K Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy and Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, and are among the prominent figures associated with visits and membership of the society. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy attended its golden-jubilee celebrations in 2006.

Historical material also refers to a BBC documentary about the cooperative. The documentary’s title and date were not provided in the information available. Over nearly seven decades, the Mulkanoor society has expanded from agricultural lending into seed production, procurement, storage, processing, dairy services and member welfare. Its operations offer an example of a village-based cooperative seeking to support farmers beyond access to credit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thirunagari Venkateswara Swamy

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