Approval for Price Deficiency Payment Scheme for Soybeans in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal. The Madhya Pradesh government has approved a Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) for soybeans for the 2026-27 Kharif marketing season. This eliminates the need for government agencies to directly procure soybeans from farmers, while still ensuring that producers receive the full benefits of a price support mechanism. It is understood that the Karnataka government is also considering the implementation of a similar scheme.

Madhya Pradesh is the leading soybean-producing state in India. The Price Deficiency Payment Scheme was also approved there during the previous season; while farmers faced some initial difficulties, the situation later stabilized. If Karnataka implements this scheme, its farmers would also receive the indirect benefit of the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Under this scheme, farmers are required to sell their produce in recognized wholesale agricultural markets (mandis) and submit the sale receipts to the government. If the soybeans are sold at a price lower than the MSP, the government compensates the farmer for the price difference.

Currently, Madhya Pradesh is the only state in the country where the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) has been approved. Under this framework, when market prices fall below the MSP, the central government covers the price difference—up to a limit of 15 percent of the MSP. However, this coverage is restricted to 25 percent of the total produce of the commodity in the state. State governments remain free to provide additional support to farmers or to increase the procurement volume limits at their own discretion.

During the previous Kharif marketing season in Madhya Pradesh, payments totaling ₹1,500 crore were made to farmers under this scheme for over 7.20 lakh tonnes of produce. In contrast, during the Rabi season, the market price for mustard remained significantly higher than the MSP, rendering the implementation of the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme unnecessary.