Karnataka sugarcane growers will stage protests at all district commissioner offices on November 3, demanding that the state government announce a State Advisory Price (SAP) for sugarcane, farmer leader Kurubur Shanthakumar said at a press conference on Monday.
Shanthakumar, president of the state unit of the Sugarcane Growers’ Association, said the decision was taken by the Coordination Committee of Sugarcane Growers of Karnataka’s farmer organisations. The protests will also seek stronger government action against alleged irregularities in sugar recovery calculations and cane weighing.
The growers’ groups are demanding a complete loan waiver for farmers and withdrawal of police cases filed against farmers who participated in protests across the state. These demands add to the immediate dispute over the price paid for sugarcane supplied to factories.
According to Shanthakumar, sugarcane is priced at ₹4,480 per tonne in Punjab, ₹4,000 in Tamil Nadu and ₹4,200 in Uttar Pradesh. He said Karnataka should also announce a state advisory price. He further demanded that the Union government raise the Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane to ₹4,500 for a sugar recovery rate of 10.25%, citing rising production costs.
The farmers’ organisations have said they do not oppose the opening of factories in north Karnataka that have announced payments of ₹4,000 per tonne. Shanthakumar said farmers could supply sugarcane to such factories.
The Coordination Committee has also announced a sit-in at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on November 6. The planned protest schedule places district administrative offices and the Bengaluru public protest site at the centre of the growers’ campaign for price intervention, relief from debt and action on weighing and recovery-related concerns.
