India-US Trade Deal Triggers Anxiety Across Soybean Fields Of Madhya Pradesh

As details of the India-US trade agreement slowly emerge, unease is spreading through the farms and mandis of Madhya Pradesh. The deal, which the government says poses no threat to Indian agriculture, is being read very differently on the ground -- especially in the state that produces nearly half of the country's soybeans.

Madhya Pradesh is known as India's "Soybean Bowl". But in these fields, farmers say the discussion has shifted from rainfall and yields to tariffs, imports, and policy fine print.

India has barred the direct import of genetically modified corn and soybeans from the US. 

On paper, that safeguard appears reassuring. But the agreement allows imports of products such as Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) -- a by-product of ethanol made from corn and rice along with red sorghum, soybean oil, and select other commodities. It is this opening that farmers fear could upend prices and livelihoods.

In Agar Malwa district, 32-year-old farmer, Jitendra Yadav, stood in his soybean field scrolling through documents on his phone. A graduate who owns 50 acres, Jitendra grows wheat, corn, and soybeans. 

Soybean prices, he said, have been weak for three to four years.
"This year, prices improved slightly, but now there is fear again," he said. "In America, farms are huge, machines do the work, and the government gives heavy subsidies. Here, we are small farmers. If cheap products enter our markets, prices will crash."

While the government has publicly stated that no tariff concessions have been given on soybeans, corn, rice, wheat, sugar, coarse grains, oilseeds, ethanol, or several fruits and vegetables, farmers remain wary of DDGS and soybean oil imports.

"There has been no real demand for soybeans for years," Jitendra says. "If cheaper alternatives come from outside, who will buy our produce?"

In Sehore mandi, farmers from Khajuria Khurd, Shikarpur, and Tarsewania gathered to break down the economics in simple terms.
"DDGS is leftover feed from ethanol production," one farmer explained. "It's protein-rich and cheap. Our soybean meal sells for Rs 43-44 per kg. DDGS will come at Rs 24-30. From 100 kg soybeans, we get 82 kg of meal. That's our income. If cheaper feed floods the market, our meal becomes unsellable."

Kripal Verma, a soybean farmer, pointed to falling prices. "Soybean was selling at Rs 5,800-6,000. Now it has slipped to Rs 5,500-5,600. Losses are inevitable."

Krishnakant Sharma of Shikarpur said the concern goes beyond crops. "Had soybean meal exports continued, farmers would have benefitted. Now imports will replace our products. We are not even recovering costs," he said.

Ajay Yadav, a computer science graduate who farms and runs a dairy business selling 65 litres of milk daily, said the anxiety extends to allied sectors.

"I heard the Agriculture Minister say milk and dairy products won't be imported," he said. "But if cheaper inputs and products enter indirectly, the market will favour price, not farmers. Most of us survive on loans," Ajay added. "In America, farming is an industry. Here, everything is manual. If policies weaken us, self-reliance becomes a slogan, not reality."

Agriculture experts underline a stark disparity: The average US farmer receives around $64,000 per year in subsidies, while an Indian farmer gets roughly $64.

DDGS, they said, will be cheaper than soybean meal and attractive to the animal feed industry. But the fallout will be borne by Indian soybean farmers, processors, and local distilleries.

Asked about these concerns, the government offered a brief reassurance. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while responding to a question by NDTV, said, "There is no product in this agreement that will harm Indian farmers".

The Opposition is not convinced. MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari called the explanation misleading, alleging that the deal places farmers at risk while protecting industrial interests.

Beyond the political sparring, farmers said their fear is rooted in experience. "Today it is DDGS," one farmer said quietly. "Tomorrow, rules change. Then seeds change. And once seeds change, the field no longer belongs to the farmer".