KRIBHCO: A Model Cooperative for Agricultural Development

India has over 140 million farming households, the majority of them small and marginal – and keeping them supplied with affordable, quality agricultural inputs is no small task. That is exactly the challenge Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited, widely known as KRIBHCO, was built to address. Since its founding in 1980, KRIBHCO has grown from a fertilizer manufacturer into a comprehensive agricultural development institution that serves farmers across every state in India. Its story shows how a cooperative, when designed with the farmer at its center, can become a powerful engine for rural transformation.

What is KRIBHCO and how did it begin? 🔗

Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) is a national-level multi-state cooperative society operating under the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. It was incorporated on 17 April 1980 with a focused mandate: to produce and distribute high-quality agricultural inputs – primarily chemical fertilizers – through cooperatives and institutional agencies across the country.

The cooperative was promoted by the Government of India, IFFCO, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), and hundreds of agricultural cooperative societies spread across the country. Its paid-up share capital has been contributed by 9,478 cooperative societies from all over India, making it a genuinely farmer-owned institution rather than a top-down government enterprise.

Fertilizer manufacturing: the backbone of KRIBHCO’s operations 🔗

KRIBHCO’s primary function has always been fertilizer production. The cooperative built its first major facility – a gas-based fertilizer complex – at Hazira in Surat, Gujarat, on the banks of the Tapti river. This complex, which began commercial urea production in 1986, was India’s first cooperative-led gas-based ammonia-urea fertilizer project and has since been revamped to become the largest single-location urea plant in the country, with an annual production capacity of 21.95 lakh metric tonnes of urea.

In addition to the Hazira complex, KRIBHCO’s wholly-owned subsidiary, KRIBHCO Fertilizers Limited (KFL), operates a greenfield urea plant at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh – strategically positioned in the heart of India’s high urea consumption belt. In FY 2023-24, the cooperative produced 23.35 lakh MT of urea and 13.88 lakh MT of ammonia, underlining its critical role in national fertilizer supply.

Beyond urea: a diversified product basket 🔗

KRIBHCO does not limit itself to urea. Its product range includes DAP, NPK complexes, MOP, Zinc Sulphate, bio-fertilizers, compost, hybrid seeds, Bt Cotton, and certified seeds. These are distributed through a network of channel partners in the cooperative and private sectors, as well as through its own retail outlets called Krishak Bharati Sewa Kendras (KBSKs) – one-stop shops where farmers can access fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, farm implements, and technical guidance all in one place.

Farmer services: direct support at the ground level 🔗

KRIBHCO’s mandate extends well beyond selling fertilizer bags. The cooperative has built an extensive system of farmer support services that address practical, day-to-day agricultural needs.

KRIBHCO Kisan Helpline 🔗

A free two-way Kisan Helpline is available to all farmers, providing expert agronomic advice over the phone. Farmers can call to get guidance on fertilizer use, crop protection, and best practices – a simple but impactful intervention given how limited extension services can be in remote areas.

KRIBHCO Krishi Paramarsh Kendra 🔗

Through its Krishi Paramarsh Kendra, KRIBHCO offers free soil and water testing for samples received from farmers across all states, with results communicated via email and posted online. The Kendra also provides technical farm literature, meteorological information, short- and long-term weather forecasts, and guidance on monthly farm operations – all free of cost for farmers and cooperative societies.

Sankat Haran Bima Yojna 🔗

Recognizing that farming carries inherent financial risk, KRIBHCO participates in the Sankat Haran Bima Yojna, an accidental death and disability insurance scheme offered through Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. Farmers automatically receive a free insurance policy with the purchase of each bag of KRIBHCO urea from cooperative societies or KBSKs, with coverage of up to ₹1,00,000 per farmer.

Rural development programs: going beyond agriculture 🔗

KRIBHCO recognized early on that farmers would not adopt new technologies unless their overall economic and social conditions improved. Based on this understanding, it developed a development model built around five interconnected pillars: farmers, fields, livestock, family, and the cooperative society.

The cooperative has over 364 employees dedicated exclusively to rural development programs, operating through field headquarters and area offices in nearly every state. Since 1984, these programs have covered three broad categories: agriculture development, cooperative development, and village adoption.

Village adoption scheme 🔗

Under the village adoption scheme, KRIBHCO selects underdeveloped villages and works with them for a year, conducting farmer meetings, field demonstrations, and educational campaigns on health and sanitation. Two comparison plots are cultivated – one using the farmer’s existing methods and one using KRIBHCO’s fertilizers and seeds – and farmers can observe the yield differences directly. Over 1,500 villages have been adopted since the program was launched.

The scheme also includes income-generation programs targeted at rural women, teaching skills such as sewing and food processing, and providing equipment like sewing machines. Storage-cum-community centres are constructed to store agricultural inputs and host social functions, strengthening community cohesion alongside agricultural productivity.

Cooperative society adoption 🔗

Parallel to village adoption, KRIBHCO runs a large-scale cooperative society adoption program. Adopted societies – both member and non-member cooperatives – receive infrastructure improvements, access to clean drinking water, technical literature, and training for their officials. KRIBHCO also organizes conferences for cooperative officials and group discussions with district-level cooperative and agriculture authorities, strengthening the broader cooperative ecosystem.

By 2019, KRIBHCO’s combined rural programs had reached 14.5 million total beneficiaries, organized over 99,358 programs, tested 453,000 soil samples, and adopted 2,808 cooperative societies.

Gramin Vikas Trust: KRIBHCO’s dedicated rural development arm 🔗

In 1999, KRIBHCO formalized its social development mission by helping establish the Gramin Vikas Trust (GVT) – a dedicated rural development institution set up jointly with the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, and DFID (UK). GVT operates as an independent National Award-winning development organization with a presence across 26 states, 400+ districts, and over 1 lakh villages.

Over more than two decades, GVT has positively impacted over 27 lakh people through 500+ development projects. Its work spans a wide range of themes – farmers’ advancement and agriculture innovation, water and natural resource management, child and women welfare, health and educational reforms, waste management, climate and environmental protection, and institutional development. GVT runs specialized training institutes and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) that translate research into actionable farm knowledge for rural communities.

Self-help groups and women’s empowerment 🔗

A key pillar of KRIBHCO’s community-based approach is its support for self-help groups (SHGs). SHGs bring together farmers – particularly women – to collectively access credit, share knowledge, and build economic resilience. Through GVT and its own CSR programs, KRIBHCO supports the formation and strengthening of SHGs, enabling rural households to pursue income-generating activities, move away from debt dependency, and participate in local decision-making.

KRIBHCO’s Community Development Programs have collectively enhanced livelihoods for over 5.81 lakh farmers and families across India, with specific attention to tribal and marginalized populations living in the vicinity of its manufacturing units.

Environmental management and sustainable agriculture 🔗

As concerns about land degradation and chemical overuse have grown, KRIBHCO has positioned itself as an advocate for balanced and sustainable farming. The cooperative maintains three bio-fertilizer manufacturing units – at Hazira (Gujarat), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), and Lanjha (Maharashtra) – producing all four major bio-fertilizers: Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria. In FY 2023-24, it produced 8.95 lakh litres of bio-fertilizers.

KRIBHCO also markets neem-coated urea and bio-compost made from city waste, encouraging farmers to reduce chemical dependency and improve long-term soil health. Its agriculture development programs actively educate farmers on the importance of soil testing and balanced fertilizer application, promoting micronutrient efficiency and organic manure use alongside conventional inputs.

Green energy and sustainability 🔗

On the production side, KRIBHCO has invested in energy efficiency improvements across its manufacturing plants and has diversified into renewable energy through its subsidiary KRIBHCO Green Energy Private Limited. The cooperative’s manufacturing facilities are continuously upgraded with advanced technologies to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and reduce resource consumption – a recognition that a cooperative committed to farmers’ futures must also protect the ecological systems that farming depends on.

Diversification and global reach 🔗

KRIBHCO’s growth has not been confined to domestic operations. In 2005, it established a joint venture with Oman Oil Company – the Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) – in which KRIBHCO holds a 25% equity stake, securing an international source of fertilizer supply. More recently, in 2025, KRIBHCO entered a DAP supply agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden, securing part of a 3.1 million metric tonne annual allocation through 2028 to bolster India’s fertilizer availability.

On the agribusiness front, KRIBHCO established Kribhco Agri Business Limited (KABL) in 2022 to export Indian agricultural commodities – including wheat, rice, maize, millets, onions, and fresh fruits – to global markets, while also importing suitable products for the Indian market. In FY 2024-25, KABL achieved a turnover of ₹1,752 crore, reflecting the cooperative’s expanding role in the agricultural value chain beyond fertilizers.

KRIBHCO as a cooperative model 🔗

What makes KRIBHCO distinctive is not just its scale, but its structure. Ownership rests entirely with its member cooperative societies – 9,650 of them as of March 2024 – and each member society holds one vote regardless of shareholding size. This democratic governance ensures that decisions serve farmer interests rather than external shareholders. Fertilizers are distributed at subsidized costs, certified seeds can be multiplied by farmers for up to three years rather than repurchased annually, and all key farmer services like soil testing and the Kisan Helpline are offered free of charge.

KRIBHCO’s approach aligns directly with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 8 – promoting sustainable economic growth, productive employment, and decent work. By building farmer-centric programs, investing in community infrastructure, and continuously expanding the scope of rural services, the cooperative demonstrates that agricultural development and social development are inseparable goals.

What do you think? Can the KRIBHCO model – combining large-scale fertilizer production with grassroots rural development programs – be replicated effectively in other developing countries with similar smallholder farming challenges? And as pressure mounts to reduce chemical fertilizer use globally, how should cooperatives like KRIBHCO balance the immediate input needs of farmers with the long-term imperative of soil and environmental health?

References

1. https://monitor.coop/sites/default/files/2021-11/WCM_a4_4_Kribhco.pdf
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishak_Bharati_Cooperative
3. https://kribhcoagri.in/about-us/
4. https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/banking/crbank_cooperative_kribhco_1.html
5. https://gvtindia.org/
6. https://www.kribhco.net/pages/sustainability/csr.html
7. https://grokipedia.com/page/Krishak_Bharati_Cooperative
8. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8