Every New Year brings fresh hopes. But for Karnataka’s farmers, it often begins with the same anxieties — prices that don’t cover costs, payments that arrive late, and policies that sound good on paper but rarely translate into security on the ground.
Sugarcane farmers exemplify this contradiction, though the issue goes far beyond one crop.
Karnataka produces around 400 lakh tonnes of sugarcane every year, supporting more than 25 lakh livelihoods across regions such as Mandya, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura and Mysuru. The crop sustains over 70 sugar factories and feeds the sugar, ethanol and alcohol industries that are deeply embedded in the state’s economy.
The returns downstream are significant. In 2024–25, excise revenue crossed Rs 40,000 crore, contributing close to 10% of the state’s total budget. Much of this revenue is linked, directly or indirectly, to sugarcane through molasses and ethanol. The irony is hard to miss: while government revenues are collected efficiently and on time, farmers supplying raw material often wait months to be paid.
Every season, cane arrears run into thousands of crores. Farmers borrow to survive the gap, only to repeat the cycle the following year.
This imbalance is not unique to sugarcane. Across Karnataka’s agricultural landscape — paddy, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables — price volatility remains the norm. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) offers protection for a limited set of crops, but procurement is uneven and often delayed. Many farmers cultivate outside the MSP safety net altogether, fully exposed to market swings.
Organic farming, which is increasingly encouraged in policy speeches, presents another paradox. Farmers who shift to organic methods invest time, labour and patience, but price premiums are uncertain. Certification costs (often Rs 20,000–50,000 per farmer) are high, market access is fragmented, and price discovery remains opaque.
While consumers benefit from healthier food and the environment gains from sustainable practices, farmers carry most of the transition risk.
A deeper structural issue runs through all of this: the value created beyond the farm gate is rarely shared back in a predictable way. Whether it is sugarcane feeding excise revenues, foodgrains entering public distribution systems, or organic produce reaching urban shelves, the system works smoothly after produce leaves the farm — but not before.
As Karnataka steps into 2026, agriculture policy needs a shift in mindset.
Price announcements must be backed by enforcement and timely payments. MSP needs to be strengthened with region-specific cost realities, not treated as a symbolic benchmark. Organic farmers require stable markets and assured premiums, not just encouragement to convert. Above all, income stability must replace crisis management.
Farmers should not have to return to the streets every year to remind the system of their contribution.
If the New Year is to mean anything for Karnataka’s agricultural sector, it must bring fairness, predictability and dignity to those who feed the state — and, in many ways, finance it too.