Field demonstrations of soybean farming as a kharif crop diversification in Punjab have started showing its cultivation feasibility for saving water.
Event Context
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been promoting legume farming because soybean is a high-value crop with multiple food, feed, and industrial uses.
State agriculture officials said that soybean farming was introduced in 2016 but the farming community did not show much interest.
However, in 2020, Hoshiarpur-based Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) director Maninder Singh Bons and other scientists, under the aegis of PAU, started encouraging farmers to experiment with legume cultivation.
In 2019, soybean cultivation was done in 80 acres in Hoshiarpur, which has improved to 500 acres in 2026.
Experts say that the plants provide nitrogen to the soil, enhancing fertility. This natural process reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers and can lead to healthier, more productive soil over time.
“Soybean is a natural host plant of the whitefly,which is a major pest threat to the cotton crop. It is an ideal crop wherever groundwater is depleting fast,” said the expert.
Match Outlook
Balwinder Singh Gill, principal soybean breeder at PAU, stated that the global demand for soybeans is steadily rising and farmers could be encouraged by establishing accessible purchase centres across the state.
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According to Bons, cultivation of the commercial crop is suitable for Hoshiarpur’s agro-climatic conditions.
Farmers here have not only ventured into soybean cultivation but also into seed production and sale, he added.
“Soybean requires hardly any fertiliser and limited pesticide application. Its irrigation requirement is very low in comparison with paddy,” said Bons.
A progressive farmer from Rampura village near Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur, Barinder Singh, first experimented with soybeans on four kanals in 2020, and this season, he sowed the crop on two acres.
“Soybean cultivation has a huge potential but in the absence of an organised marketing channel, farmers are hesitant to venture into it. In 2024 and 2025, I sowed soybeans on 15 acres, but I struggled to sell the crop to recover the cost input,” he said.
Another farmer, Dharminder Singh from Jandiala, said that soybeans are a drought-resistant crop and cost ₹8-10,000 per acre.
“I witnessed the average yield of five quintals from an acre. Soybean crop requires nearly five irrigation cycles, in contrast with nearly 30 irrigation cycles required for paddy. But it needs processing and a strong marketing ecosystem. Traders offer anywhere between ₹3,500-6,000 per quintal and soybean growers feel discouraged due to unstable prices,” he said.
Centre government has fixed a minimum support price (MSP) for soybean at ₹5,708 per quintal for the kharif marketing season of 2026-27 and in the previous season, the MSP was ₹5,328.
“Inputs from farmers show that soybeans are an economically viable crop and a good alternative in regions facing water scarcity. Our teams are working on developing new varieties that mature early, produce a higher yield and resist pests,” said Gill.
He said that soybeans are recommended as an alternative to paddy as a kharif crop, except in the cotton-growing areas of southwest Punjab.
