Farmer organizations in Maharashtra have raised alarm and threatened mass protests if the central government allows it. unrestricted import of agricultural products within the framework of the trade agreement between India and the United States. Amid the ongoing debate, they also invoked MS Swaminathan’s recommendation to include a livelihood box in international trade agreements to safeguard the interests of small and marginal farmers, with India taking the lead in developing nations.
In a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president Raju Shetti wrote, “We have been informed that India and the United States have signed a $500 billion trade deal allowing interest-free import of agricultural products. If it goes ahead, the deal will be a betrayal of Indian farmers as the country will be flooded with imports such as soybean, corn, dairy and other products from the United States.”
Explaining the objective of opposing the agreement, Shetti said indian express“If the doors are opened to agricultural products, it will be detrimental to farmers as they will not be able to withstand competition from the advanced agricultural sector of the United States.” Apart from the genetically modified seeds they use, the large-scale production of crops and regulatory mechanisms to stabilize their agricultural markets, along with profitability, give them an additional advantage.
Citing an example to show the disparity, he said: “A soybean farmer in the US produces 35 to 40 quintals per hectare compared to 10 to 15 quintals per hectare in our country. Similarly, in cotton, the yield of a US farmer is 40 to 49 quintals per hectare compared to our 8 to 15 quintals/hectare. In corn, They produce 110 to 120 quintals per hectare.
In addition, imports from the United States will be interest-free and exports at 18 percent. Where is the level playing field? How will farmers withstand the competition financially? asked.
“If the government does not protect the agriculture sector, we will take to the streets across Maharashtra and across the country. Farmer groups will have to come together and take up the cause of farmers,” he said.
With small and marginal farmers accounting for 78 per cent of the total population of 1.5 million farmers in Maharashtra, a Vidarbha farm leader Vijay Jawandhia said, “The agriculture sector will be completely devastated if trade deals are implemented. Unlike developed countries that have green and blue boxes to protect their farmers, developing nations, including India, have failed to push for a similar mechanism through the livelihood box. The leading agricultural scientist in his report two ago decades had recommended that India should represent the developing countries united nations and propose a livelihood box at the WTO to protect the interests of small and marginal farmers.
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Unfortunately, our government has not carried it out. “If there had been such a provision, we would have had a regulatory method to address uncontrolled imports that threaten farmers’ livelihoods.”
He noted, “Even now, the basic minimum support price (MSP), recommended by MS Swaminathan as mandatory to ensure that farmers recover their investment expenditure, remains on paper.”
Despite satisfactory yields, farmers had to sell their soybean crop at Rs 1,000 per quintal below the MSP of Rs 5,328/quintal and cotton also at Rs 6,000/quintal against the MSP of Rs 7,710/quintal, he added.
Farm activist Kishore Tiwari warns about the serious implications of the India-US trade deal, especially in Vidarbha and Marathwada, where cases of farmer suicides are higher compared to the rest of Maharashtra. Tiwari said, “Soya bean and cotton are the major cash crops in Vidarbha and Marathwada region for most small and marginal farmers. If unrestricted import of these two crops is allowed, farmers will be pushed further into debt and financial distress.” Every year, on an average, 4,000 to 4,500 farmers die in Maharashtra due to the agricultural crisis. Most of these cases come from Vidarbha, Marathwada region, which is still reeling from regional imbalance and lacks necessary infrastructure and financial support for farmers.
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While acknowledging that successive governments (from 2014 to 2026) have granted farm loan waivers, Tiwari said, “The single financial package is not the solution. It will require sustained support both in terms of logistics and finances.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Jawandhia argued: “In more developed countries like the United States, farmers receive massive subsidies for agriculture. With advanced technology, higher crop yields, and large plots of land, American farmers still depend on government subsidies for agriculture.”
“While our government approach is to reduce subsidies like it is done in the fertilizer sector. Under PMKSY, farmers have been getting Rs 6,000 a year. Now, this scheme was implemented in 2019. Why haven’t subsidies been increased?” he asked.