New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- For Abhishek Raghuvanshi, a farmer from Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh, 2024 was a surprisingly good year. His summer crop of soybeans produced the highest-ever yield of 1.4 tonnes per hectare, nearly three times the production a year earlier, when most of the harvest was lost to adverse weather. Last year, thankfully, there was no excess rain, drought spell or pest attack on the crop.

Government procurement at the minimum support price (MSP) was another boon for Raghuvanshi because market prices were about 20% lower than the MSP. Though he could sell just about two-thirds of his total production to government agencies, without this support Raghuvanshi's losses would be significant.

The good tidings for Raghuva...