Shift from Soybean to Maize Cultivation Alters Agricultural Landscape
Soybean cultivation in India has reduced by three lakh hectares to 115 lakh hectares, largely due to a shift to maize farming. SOPA attributes this shift to the profitability of ethanol and DDGS. Continuous rains also affected soybean sowing. Despite this, the soybean crop condition remains normal.
- Country:
- India
In a significant shift in India's agricultural dynamics, soybean cultivation has decreased to 115 lakh hectares this season, down from 118.32 lakh hectares last year, according to estimates by the Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA).
This reduction is attributed to several traditional soybean farmers now opting for maize cultivation, drawn by the lucrative earnings from ethanol production and Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), which serve as animal feed. The change is also due to persistent rainfall hindering soybean sowing in key regions.
SOPA's executive director, D N Pathak, highlighted that despite this acreage decline, the overall condition of the soybean crop remains normal, with future yields contingent on upcoming weather conditions. The government has set a higher minimum support price for soybean at Rs 5,328 per quintal for the 2025-26 season.
- READ MORE ON:
- soybean
- maize
- cultivation
- India
- agriculture
- ethanol
- DDGS
- SOPA
- Madhya Pradesh
- MSP
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