BELAGAVI: A breakthrough was reached in the sugarcane pricing dispute in the early hours of Tuesday following marathon negotiations between Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, sugarcane farmers and sugar factory owners in Belagavi. A final decision on the price payable to farmers is expected within two days.Shivakumar held five rounds of discussions lasting nearly 10 hours at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha and the Circuit House on Monday in Belagavi, bringing together farmers’ leaders and representatives of 79 of the state’s 80 sugar factories.
The breakthrough came after the Chief Minister pressed both sides to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution. The discussions were attended by nine ministers and around 70 MLAs, besides farmers’ representatives and mill owners. Speaking to media persons at 12.30 am on Tuesday at the Circuit House here, Shivakumar said the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar was central to determining the price mills could pay sugarcane growers. Factory owners had agreed to work out the cane price based on the minimum sugar sale price, while farmers’ leaders sought two days to discuss the proposal among themselves.
He said farmers had held discussions with a Union minister and were hopeful of a favourable response. The state government, he added, was prepared to support further negotiations with the Centre.
The talks followed days of protests across north Karnataka, with farmers demanding remunerative prices for sugarcane amid a deadlock with sugar factories over procurement rates.