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Following the decision by farmers to not send sugarcane to factories unless they get remunerative prices, factories in north Karnataka have refused to pay the price fixed by the state government.
The state government had announced a minimum support price of Rs 2,500 a tonne for sugarcane grown in north Karnataka and Rs 2,400 a tonne for the produce in the south.
Farmers, though unhappy with the prices, had decided to sell the produce to factories, fearing delays would lead to losses.
However, sugar factories are offering just Rs 2,000 a tonne; they want the state government to pay the remaining Rs 500 a tonne.
Of the 65 sugar factories in Karnataka, 58 are functional. While the cooperative sector has 22 factories, two are run by the government and 34 are privately owned. Of the private factories, 33 are owned/managed by politicians.
The state government had announced a minimum support price of Rs 2,500 a tonne for sugarcane grown in north Karnataka and Rs 2,400 a tonne for the produce in the south.
Farmers, though unhappy with the prices, had decided to sell the produce to factories, fearing delays would lead to losses.
However, sugar factories are offering just Rs 2,000 a tonne; they want the state government to pay the remaining Rs 500 a tonne.
Of the 65 sugar factories in Karnataka, 58 are functional. While the cooperative sector has 22 factories, two are run by the government and 34 are privately owned. Of the private factories, 33 are owned/managed by politicians.
Belgaum district stands first in sugarcane production in Karnataka accounting for 35% of the state’s total production. With 21 sugar factories, the district produces 1.30 crore tonnes of sugarcane every year, while the total production in the state stands
at 3.5 crore tonnes. Bagalkot has nine factories while Bidar has four, Bijapur, Gulbarga and Davanagere three each.
Last year, the farmers in Bagalkot district had produced 1.3 crore tonnes of sugarcane in four lakh acres of land. But this year the production has come down to 1.10 crore tonnes. The nine factories in the district together have the capacity of crushing 70,000 tonnes per day.
Only two factories-Ranna Sugars in Mudhol and Sameerwadi sugar factory in Sameerwadi of Bagalkot district have started crushing the canes. Sameerwadi Sugars after crushing 96,000 tonnes had stopped crushing following an agitation staged by farmers. Sameerwadi Sugars has already started paying the farmers at the rate of Rs 2,000 per tonne.
Last year 3.20 crore tonne of sugarcane yield was recorded in the State. However this year, it has reduced to 2.88 crore tonnes. There has been a decline in the yield of sugarcane not only in Karnataka but also in Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra and Tamilnadu.
President of State Sugarcane Growers’ Association Kurabur Shantakumar said the farmers were not happy with the price fixed by the government but were ready to sell the standing crop because any delay would cause loss to the farmers as well as to the factories. If cane is not harvested in time, than recover level comes down.
He urged the factory managements to start crushing immediately and warned that the factories or the state government will have to make good any loss suffered by the farmers due to delay in crushing. He hoped that the factories in Belgaum district will commence crushing in a couple of days.
Karnataka has 25 lakh sugarcane growers and the government earns Rs 6 crore every year by way of tax from this sector, Shantakumar said and alleged that the government was also apathetic towards farmers. Sugarcane growers in North Karnataka districts in general and those in Belgaum district often bear the brunt of price fluctuation as the region accounts for nearly 65% of sugarcane production.
The area under sugarcane cultivation in the state is 3.5 lakh hectares and the requirement by all the factories put together is 3 crore tonnes. Farmers’ leader in Bagalkot Muttappa Komar said the government should take the responsibility of not only fixing the price of sugarcane but also implement the same. The government should ensure that the factory accept the sugarcane and pay the price fixed by the government to farmers.
