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Sugarcane farmers in north Karnataka, who have been protesting for nine days in the Belagavi region for better prices for their produce due to a production surplus, decided on Friday to call off their protest. This decision followed the state government’s announcement of an increase in the purchase price from Rs 3,200 per tonne to Rs 3,300 per tonne.
The decision to provide a subsidy of Rs 100, with Rs 50 from the state and Rs 50 from factory owners, over and above the remunerative price fixed by the Central government, was taken following a nearly seven-hour meeting held by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with sugarcane factory owners in Bengaluru Friday.
“The government and factory owners have decided to add Rs 50 each to give farmers Rs 3,300 per tonne,” Siddaramaiah announced in Bengaluru Friday evening. The amount will be exclusive of harvesting and transport costs incurred by the farmers and applicable to all forms of sugarcane yields, he said.
Soon after the announcement, farmer leaders in Belagavi announced their decision to call off their protest, including at a blockade of a highway near Hukkeri in Belagavi, where stray incidents of stone throwing on government vehicles were reported, along with police arrests.
There are 81 sugar factories in Karnataka, comprising 11 cooperative factories, one government-owned factory, and 69 private sugar factories.
The sugarcane farmers from the North Karnataka districts of Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Vijayanagara, Bidar, Gadag, Hubli-Dharwad and Haveri districts have been protesting since October 30 for an increase in the price for sugarcane from the current price of ₹ 3550 per tonne (including harvest and transport cost) announced by the central government.
“In today’s meeting, it was decided that sugar factories will pay Rs 3,250 per tonne for 11.25 per cent recovered sugarcane, excluding harvesting and transportation costs. The government has decided to pay an additional Rs 50,” the chief minister said.
The rate prescribed on Friday is Rs 100 more than the rate finalised by the Belagavi district collector. “Almost all sugar factory owners have agreed to this. Separate rates will be fixed from district to district, based on the sugarcane recovery rate. We are confident that the farmers will agree to this,” Siddaramaiah said after the meeting with factory owners.
While 5.6 crore metric tonnes of sugar were produced in the state in 2024, the production is estimated to be over 6 crore metric tonnes this year.
Earlier, the Belgaum district magistrate held talks with sugar factory owners, and a decision was taken to fix the price of sugarcane with a 10.50 per cent recovery rate at Rs 3,100 and sugarcane with an 11.25 per cent recovery rate at Rs 3,200. However, the protesting farmers did not agree to the price.
On Thursday, the Karnataka CM wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an urgent meeting as well as central clearances for fixing sugarcane remuneration without harvesting and transport charges.
“The state government has engaged proactively and has held multiple rounds of discussions with all the concerned stakeholders. In Belagavi, the deputy commissioner has advised sugar mills to pay Rs 3,200 per tonne at 11.25 per cent recovery and Rs 2,310 per tonne at 10.25 per cent recovery, excluding harvesting and transport (H&T) charge,” the chief minister stated.
The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Centre for the 2025-26 season stands at Rs 3,550 per tonne for a basic recovery rate of 10.25 per cent but after deduction of the harvesting and transport costs, which range between Rs 800 and Rs 900 per tonne, the effective payment reaching the farmer is only about Rs 2,600-3,000 per tonne, Siddaramaiah stated.
The price reaching the farmers is unsustainable “due to sharp increases in fertiliser, labour, irrigation and transport costs”, he said.
“The root of the problem lies in Central policy levers: the FRP formula, the stagnating Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar, export curbs and the under-utilised ethanol offtake from sugar-based feedstock,” the Karnataka CM stated.
“Our farmers demand a cane price of Rs 3,500 per tonne net to them (after H&T deductions) and time-bound payments. This figure, they insist, represents not a premium but the bare minimum required to sustain cultivation,” says the Karnataka CM’s letter.
Siddaramaiah has asked the Centre to issue a notification allowing states to fix or endorse a net price to farmers after harvesting and transport or mandate that mills absorb the cost of harvest and transport “so that Rs 3,500/tonne net becomes feasible”.
“The Centre has increased the recovery rate from 9.5 per cent in 2017-18 to 10 per cent in 2021-22. Now, it has been increased to 10.25 per cent,” the CM said in a press briefing.
Addressing a news conference, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi had urged the Karnataka government to sit with farmers and resolve the issue.
“I don’t want to make accusations and counter-accusations. The state government should hold a meeting with mills and farmers to arrive at an amicable solution, rather than aggravating the issue further,” Joshi said Thursday.
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