Karnataka sugarcane farmers demand fair prices, Call for government action
Karnataka sugarcane farmers expressed their disappointment that the prices they received were lower than those in other states. All India Sugarcane Farmers Federation chief D. Ravindran, while speaking at the State Conference of the Sugarcane Growers, held at Kalaburagi on Sunday, September 29, 2024, condemned the current mechanism of pricing for being inappropriate.
“Karnataka's sugarcane growers are receiving a lower price despite producing higher-quality cane with better sugar recovery rates than their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala,” Ravindran said. “In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where the sugar recovery rate is less than 8.5%, farmers get ₹2,750 and ₹2,870 per tonne, respectively. However, in Karnataka, despite a sugar recovery rate of over 10%, farmers receive less. This is an injustice to Karnataka’s cane growers.”
The issue has sparked protests across the state, with farmers demanding the introduction of a State Advised Price (SAP) to ensure fair remuneration.
Ravindran emphasized the importance of unity among farmers in their fight for fair compensation, noting that sugarcane cultivation costs between ₹2,700 and ₹2,900 per tonne. With 74 sugar mills in Karnataka, 61 of which are privately owned, he accused these private mills of cheating farmers and offering unfair prices.
Ravindran further criticized the Union Government’s proposed amendment to the Sugarcane (Control) Order of 1966, which, he argued, would restrict states’ autonomy over the sale of sugar and its by-products and remove the 14-day payment rule for farmers after harvest. “This amendment is anti-farmer and should not be allowed,” he said.
Ravindran also mentioned the implementation of SAP, which protects farms, and the success of those laws in the other two states, Punjab and Haryana. He proposed that the sugarcane with a sugar recovery rate of more than 9.5% be fixed at ₹5,500 a tonne, and he urged the Karnataka government to implement similar regulations. Additionally, it introduced legislation that ensures growers will receive 50% of the profits from sugarcane byproducts.
T. Yeshwanth, the association's state secretary, agreed and added that the government is more focused on sugar mill owners than on farmers. He continued by saying that the government had virtually completely disregarded an order it had passed giving the go-ahead for all of these mills with ethanol production facilities to pay farmers ₹150 per tonne.
The conference was attended by a number of farmer leaders, activists, and union representatives, including M.B. Sajjan, Dalit activist Sudham Dhanni, and Sharanabasappa Mamshetty. All of these individuals expressed their solidarity and support for sugarcane farmers in their fight against the unfair compensation practices.
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UDF will have huge win in Kerala, NDA won't open its account: Cong leader Satheesan
Kochi (PTI): Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan on Friday expressed confidence in a huge win by the UDF, claiming it will make a clean sweep in five districts, and brushed aside speculations that the NDA will open its account in Kerala.
Satheesan, speaking to reporters here a day after the conclusion of the Assembly polls, praised the performance of the UDF leaders and workers during the election, saying it was the best ever he has seen in the last 30 years.
He said that his claims of the UDF getting over 100 seats is not a mere statement, but based on the work the front has done during the last five years to bring back all those who had left it in 2005 and as a result, there was a huge wave in its favour in the state.
The leader of opposition in the state assembly, who contested from the Paravoor constituency, further said that the Congress-led front also had a major social backing from minorities and marginalised groups in the society.
Besides that, there was an anti-incumbency feeling among the people who were disappointed with the LDF rule, he claimed and said that the UDF provided them with a hope and an alternative which no other opposition had done in the past.
"All these factors will contribute to a huge win for the UDF and it would not be surprising if we make a clean sweep in Malappuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts. That is a total of 43 seats," he said.
According to him, the polling percentage increased because the UDF got people added to the electoral list.
He also brushed aside the LDF remarks about a woman or youth CM, saying that "they can make such statements now as they know they cannot win".
"Otherwise, why did they campaign with Pinarayi Vijayan as the main factor. Why did they say a third Pinarayi rule will come?" he asked.
He also claimed that the LDF's decision to spend government money on its political campaign, by putting up hoardings and carrying out social media programmes to sway voters, has also backfired as people realised that their taxes were being wasted like that.
Asked whether the NDA will open its account, especially in areas where the UDF claimed the BJP-led front had made a deal with the LDF, Satheesan replied in the negative.
He said that as of now he does not see any chance of the NDA opening its account in the state.
