BEEDI, KHANAPUR TALUK: Sugarcane farmer Sanjay Sonulkar of Haljunjwad village in Khanapur taluk once had a productive three-acre field. For many years he and his family lived somewhat comfortably on the earnings from the land. But the ongoing sugarcane crisis has struck them hard.
He has now been forced to sell half of his land, take a loan of Rs 1 lakh and start working as a daily-wage labourer, only because he wants his son to study well. “I have no other source of income to support my son’s education,’’ says Sonulkar. His son, a second engineering student in Belagavi, also works with him in the fields.
This story is the same for several other farmers across the sugarcane belt of North Karnataka, who are facing severe financial crisis. They blame the sugar factories for “ruining their lives”. Several parts of Khanapur have been affected by drought in the last few seasons, resulting in massive crop losses.
They have no other option but to sell their land or raise huge loans if they want to pay for medical expenses or their kid’s education. Many of the hapless among them, who could not cope with the pressure, have ended their lives.
Sonulkar puts the blame on “factory-government nexus”. He says, “I make a profit of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 annually from the cane crop, and my monthly earning is less than Rs 2,000. It is impossible to bear the family expenses once the children grow up.’’
According to him, cane grown on an acre should fetch Rs 60,000 for the grower if factories paid Rs 2,500 per tonne. However, the farmers in Khanapur are investing about Rs 40,000 to grow cane on an acre of land. “It means, I am getting Rs 20,000 profit, provided the sugar mill pays me annually and on time. I am yet to get 50 per cent of my dues from the factories.’’