Mahadayi River row: Bitter sugarcane farmers look for greener pastures

Bengaluru: Belagavi and Mandya districts, known as the Sugar Bowls of Karnataka, may soon lose this tag if the switchover of farmers to alternative crops is any indication.

For many decades, these two districts had been growing sugarcane to supply  sugar to millions of people across the state. But now the farmers have decided to switch to other crops, all because of the negligent attitude of the state government.

The high cost of cultivation, steady decline in sugar prices, and the inability of the government to help them and the delay in payments by sugar factories, have forced farmers to go in for crops which are less risky and fetch more income.

While the sugarcane crop takes 18 months to harvest, other crops are ready for harvesting in three to four months. This has prompted farmers to look beyond cane, said sources.

Till recently, the total cultivable sugarcane crop in the state was around 10 lakh acres. Now, it has declined by around 40 per cent due to lack of support from the state government.

According to a recent estimate, sugarcane is now grown in only 6-7 lakh acres. This will certainly impact sugar production in the state which stands second in the country, after Maharashtra in cane production.

People have not forgotten farmers setting fire to the standing sugarcane crop after prices hit rock bottom due to the sugar glut. This resulted in a spate of cane grower suicides in the state. Not ready to take the risk anymore, sugarcane growers are slowly switching to cereals, pulses and horticulture crops.

Supporting this view, Karnataka Sugar Cane Growers Association President Kurubur Shanthakumar said farmers were fed up with the government and have decided to go for alternative crops like maize, soya, green gram, sunflower, urad dal, cotton, papaya and banana as they are less risky and highly regenerative compared to sugarcane. 

Sugar factories are playing with the lives of cane growers by not making payments on time. "Our association's plea to farmers to go for other crops has yielded results.  Over 1500 farmers have responded positively to our request", he noted.

He said green gram per ton is Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 in the open market compared to Rs 2,300 per ton of sugarcane, the price fixed by the state and union governments.

“Let’s see what sugar mills will crush when cane production goes down steadily.  It has become inevitable for us to unite  for the cause of lakh of farmers who toil in fields,” he added.