Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday sought an urgent appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss "the serious situation" arising out of the ongoing farmers' agitation.
The farmers in the northern districts of the state are demanding a fair price of Rs 3,500 per tonne for sugarcane.
The CM claimed that the root of the problem lies in central policy levers: the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) formula, the stagnating Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar, export curbs and the under-utilised ethanol offtake from sugar-based feedstock.
The protest by farmers at Gurlapur Cross in Mudalagi taluk of Belagavi district entered the eighth day on Thursday. It has also spread across various parts of north Karnataka districts like Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Haveri among others.
With the protest intensifying Siddaramaiah has called for a meeting with farmer leaders and representatives of sugar factories on Friday.
"I write to seek your urgent appointment to discuss the serious situation arising out of the ongoing agitation by sugarcane farmers in North Karnataka, particularly in Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Vijayanagara, Bidar, Bagalkote, Gadag, Hubli-Dharwad and Haveri districts. Despite sustained efforts by the State Government to engage both the farmers and the sugar mill owners in dialogue, the agitation has intensified and there is a growing sense of unrest among the farming community," Siddaramaiah said in a letter to the PM.
Noting that the state government has engaged proactively and has held multiple rounds of discussions with all the concerned stakeholders, he said, in Belagavi, the Deputy Commissioner has advised sugar mills to pay Rs 3,200 per tonne at 11.25 per cent recovery and Rs 3,100 per tonne at 10.25 per cent recovery, excluding harvesting and transport charges (H&T).
"We have introduced digital weigh-bridges, constituted committees to monitor recovery, weighing, deductions and payments, and provided free weighing machines at Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) centres to protect farmer interests," he added.
Stating that despite these measures, farmers remain dissatisfied and have threatened to resort to highway blockades and other measures if their demands are not met, the CM told Modi that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Central Government for the 2025-26 season stands at Rs 355 per quintal (Rs 3,550 per tonne) for a basic recovery rate of 10.25 per cent.
"However, after deducting the mandatory 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-Rs 3,000 per tonne. However, due to sharp increases in fertilizer, labour, irrigation and transport costs, this pricing structure has rendered sugarcane cultivation economically unsustainable," he said.
Pointing out that the farmers are demanding a cane price of Rs 3,500 per tonne net to them (after H&T deductions) and time-bound payments, Siddaramaiah said, this figure, they insist, represents not a premium but the bare minimum required to sustain cultivation.
They seek fair, transparent and enforceable pricing mechanisms. "To respond constructively we request that the Union Government immediately enable -- a central notification to allow States to fix or endorse a net price to farmers after H&T or mandate that mills absorb H&T so that Rs 3,500/tonne net becomes feasible; recalibration of the recovery rate linked premium/discount for FRP," he said.
"Also, revision of sugar MSP above Rs 31 per kg; a calibrated export window to relieve mills of unsold stocks and enable faster payment cycles; increased ethanol allocation and assured procurement from Karnataka's sugar-based capacity; strengthened payment enforcement protocols with priority given to farmer dues; and the constitution of a time-bound joint high-level committee to monitor the cane-payment ecosystem in Karnataka until the current season ends," he added.
Further, stating that the state has acted diligently, yet the crisis persists because the "fundamental levers" are in the hands of the Union Government, the CM said, "I therefore request for a prompt meeting with you so that we may address these issues in concert for the sake of our sugarcane farming community, our rural economy, and the integrity of the sugarcane value-chain in Karnataka and the nation." PTI KSU KH
