The United States had only 1.82 million family farms in 2023, compared to India’s 93.09 million “agricultural households” as per the National Statistical Office’s Situation Assessment Survey report of 2019. Their much smaller numbers notwithstanding, US farmers — whose median household income of $97,984 exceeded the corresponding middle value of $80,610 for all American households — receive significant government support. This might be relevant in the ongoing trade negotiations between India and the US, where Washington has sought that agriculture not be “off the table” in any deal on expanding market access and cutting tariffs. India’s farm sector “can’t stay closed” and must “open up” for American produce, the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said. Form of assistance Story continues below this ad The US, unlike India, does not provide subsidies on fertiliser, electricity or water in order to underprice these inputs used by farmers. Nor does its government intervene much on the output side through physical procurement and stocking of produce. Government support to agricultural producers in the US, instead, takes place mainly …