United Soybean Board / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Cropped.
Soybean is selling well above its support price in Madhya Pradesh's mandis this season, and the state's price gap payment scheme has drawn far fewer farmers as a result.
The minimum support price for soybean in 2026–27 is ₹5,708 a quintal. On 4 November, modal prices in state mandis included ₹6,815 in Bhopal, ₹6,955 in Indore, ₹6,800 in Sehore and ₹6,700 in Dewas, according to mandi data published by Krishak Jagat. Under the Bhavantar scheme, the state pays farmers the difference only when they sell below the MSP. With prices above it, there is little to claim.
Registrations show the shift. Ground Report quoted Rajgarh agriculture official V.K. Nahiyata as saying only 766 farmers registered in the district this year, against more than 11,000 last year. Registration ran from 3 to 24 October.
The rise follows a poor crop elsewhere. The Soybean Processors Association of India estimates national output will fall about 2% to 107.93 lakh tonnes, with Maharashtra down nearly a third, while Madhya Pradesh's crop is projected to rise 32% to 57.16 lakh tonnes. Some farmers and traders are holding stock in the hope of better rates.
The state has also told mandis to stay open on holidays for soybean and maize purchases, so farmers need not wait through festival closures to sell and get paid.
The better prices come with a worry about the next crop. A Dewas farmer told Ground Report that wells and borewells in his village were running low after weak rain, and he has moved half his land from wheat to mustard, which needs less water.
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