Civil Society Warns PM Modi Against US Pressure on Agriculture Tariffs

New Delhi: Civil society representatives have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to yield to US pressure on agriculture tariffs, warning that such a move would devastate Indian farmers, undermine food sovereignty and hand over India’s huge agricultural market to heavily subsidised American producers.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, public policy expert Dr Narasimha Reddy Donthi and Supreme Court petitioner Aruna Rodrigues argued that the United States, not India, enjoys the real “comparative advantage” in agriculture because of massive subsidies directly paid to American farmers. They pointed out that while an average Indian farming household earns barely 6,000 rupees per month, amounting to just 820 US dollars annually, US federal farm payments in 2025 are projected at 42.4 billion dollars, averaging over 12,000 dollars per American farmer every year. This subsidy advantage of more than 15 times, they said, allows US farmers to undercut Indian producers and distort trade.

The letter recalled the position taken by Dr Verghese Kurien, India’s legendary “Milkman,” who in the 1980s had exposed the hypocrisy of the US argument on comparative advantage by highlighting the billions in subsidies given to American farmers even as India’s subsistence farmers were denied small incentives. India was nearly self-sufficient in oilseeds then, importing just 3 percent of its requirement, but after tariff cuts imposed under WTO pressure, imports today have risen to almost 60 percent, worth 20 billion dollars annually. The letter warns that bowing to US diktats again could push India’s agriculture into deeper dependence, force millions of farmers off the land, drive mass migration into cities, and create shortages, famine and disease.

The civil society leaders also expressed alarm at US attempts to push genetically modified soybeans, corn and canola into India. India remains a largely non-GM country, which they described as a competitive advantage for Indian farmers. They cautioned that opening India’s market to GMO crops would risk contamination, endanger public health, and damage India’s reputation as a non-GM producer at a time when global consumers are demanding clean, safe and organic food. Exporting GMO-linked crops to India, they said, would amount to exporting American health problems to Indian children and animals.

The letter, copies of which were marked to the Union Ministers for Environment, Agriculture and Commerce as well as all Members of Parliament, urged the government to safeguard the integrity of Indian agriculture, farmers’ livelihoods and the health of its people. It affirmed support for the Prime Minister’s stand so far, while insisting that India must refuse any agreement that compromises food sovereignty or democratic control over food systems.