Although the income of farmers is expected to be lower this year than

I also settled on D as the right answer.

This SC butler question is easier for me than the other.

This question is about parallelism in comparisons, pronoun reference, and subject-verb agreement. When comparing two things, say X and Y, both X and Y must be logically parallel.

Split #1: surpasses vs surpass
The subject of the main clause is yields, which is a plural noun. The plural verb surpass rather than surpasses is required. Eliminate B and C for subject-verb agreement error.

Split #2: Parallelism in comparisons. yields surpass last year vs yields surpass those/that of last year
yields surpass last year illogically compares yields to last year. This is wrong because the entities being compared are not parallel. On the other hand, yields surpass those/that of last year compares this year's yields with those/that of last year, and this is logical. Eliminate A.

Split #3: Pronoun error: those vs that
The pronoun those or that refers to yields, which is a plural noun and hence requires a plural pronoun. While those is a plural pronoun, that is a singular pronoun. That is therefore not appropriate. E is wrong, and D is left as the best answer.

I selected "B" but due to the requirement of the Plural verb, my selection of B was wrong...
had there been the verb "Surpass" in option in B instead of "surpasses" than would it be the correct option???