Sugarcane farmers protest ends in Belagavi

Sugarcane farmers participating in a padayatra as part of Jail Bharo agitation near Hattargi village on Wednesday.

The week-long protest by sugarcane farmers ended after a meeting between factory owners and farmers in Belagavi on Wednesday night.

The farmers have agreed to an offer made by factories to pay ₹3,600 per tonne of sugarcane. This is around ₹50 higher than last year’s price.

The 29 sugar factories in Belagavi district are expected to begin crushing operations starting Thursday.

“This price is limited to mills in Belagavi district. This is conditional to the fact that the factories have agreed to pay more if the Union government revises the prices of sugar or sugarcane,” district in-charge Minister and sugar factory owner Satish Jarkiholi said after the meeting.

He said that the advantages and challenges faced by farmers who grow rain-fed sugarcane and have irrigated fields are different.

“However, all types of farmers were present in the meeting and we have managed to come to a common understanding,” he said.

“Farmers have some other demands also. This is only a temporary solution to the problem that has multiple dimensions. Issues like revising the Minimum Selling Price of sugar and Fair and Remunerative Price of sugarcane are to be decided by the Union government. From our side, we have tried to get the two parties to talk and come to an understanding about pricing,” he said.

To a query, he said that there is a possibility of the State government reviewing the State Advised Price for sugarcane after one year.

He also said that the financial conditions of private, government and cooperative factories are different and that sugarcane supplying farmers need to understand this fact.