Uncertainty haunts North Karnataka sugarcane farmers

Hubballi: Forty-eight year old farmer, Rachappa Kallolli of Shirol village in Bagalkot district has managed to get only 30 tonnes of sugarcane per acre as against 40 tonnes last year owing to severe drought conditions. He has agreed to supply the cane crop to the sugar factory for crushing for a mere Rs 1,500 per ton. The factories have offered the decreased price with a precondition that they will pay the remaining amount based on the price prevailing in the market.

The farmers have been forced to supply the sugarcane crop at lower rate despite government having fixed the State Advised Price (SAP) of Rs 2,300 per ton. The factories are offering a lesser price to the farmers citing less sugar content in the cane as North Karnataka has witnessed a drought.

The state government had seized sugar from the mills for failing to pay the price fixed by it for farmers. But it failed to settle the dues of farmers as there were no takers for the seized sugar stock.
Moreover, the seized stock was returned to the factories after three months! Experts also claimed that there is abundant sugar stock in the country for the next two years and this has reduced the demand for sugar.

Now, the drought and refusal of the factories to pay SAP has dealt a severe blow to the farmers. Meanwhile, the cane growers who had convened a meeting in Mahalingapura in Bagalkot district under the leadership of farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar, have threatened to launch an agitation if factories refused to pay SAP.

"The sugarcane yield has reduced drastically as there is no water in Malaprabha left bank canal due to failure of rainfall this year. Moreover, we could not lift the required water from the borewell as government is supplying power only for 3-4 hours every day. We are anxious about the drying up of our sugarcane crop if crushing operation is not undertaken. Therefore, we have agreed to supply the sugarcane to the factories without going for much bargaining over the price", farmer Rachappa Kallolli said.

The director of S Nijalingappa Sugar Institute Mallikarjun Heggalagi said that the sugarcane growers are suffering loss due to low yield and their problem will get worsen if factories delay or refuse to crush the crop. He also said that there is an urgent need to stop privatisation of co-operative sugar factories to ensure transparent and efficient administration.

Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.