Despite being one of the largest producers of sugarcane in the country, Karnataka has failed to help lakhs of sugarcane growers wriggle out of the long-drawn crisis. Sugar factories in the state are flourishing and getting richer over the years riding on the bumper sugarcane produce, but cane growers are in a deep crisis due to the government’s inability to ensure a suitable price for their produce.
At the cost of cane growers’ hard work, the sugar industry has become lucrative in recent years. Recently, the state government received 49 applications for licenses to launch new sugar factories. One can imagine the profits that 78 functioning sugar factories in the state are earning from crushing sugarcane and producing byproducts.
Many factories, controlled by influential leaders including MLAs and MPs, have deprived cane growers a suitable price for cane. “The government collects over Rs 10,000 crore in taxes annually from the state’s sugar industry. If sugar factories cannot pay at least Rs 3,500 per tonne of cane, the growers appeal to the government to pay them some amount from the whopping taxes it collects,’’ says Karnataka State Sugarcane Farmers’ Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar.
Cane growers in Punjab get Rs 3,800 per tonne, in UP it is Rs 3,500 and in Gujarat Rs 4,400. On top of that, growers in these states also get additional money for transport and harvest, said Shanthakumar. “In Karnataka, the growers get a meagre amount despite the average sugar recovery rate being over 10.5 kg (for each tonne of cane) as compared to less than 10 kg sugar recovery in UP, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat,’’ he pointed out.
A large number of farmers in Bengaluru and Mysuru are on an indefinite strike over the last 21 days demanding Rs 3,500 as fair and remunerative price (FRP) from the factories. “A few days ago, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai discussed the issue with the growers, but no solution has been found. We will continue our dharna,’’ he said.
The sugar lobby, controlled by influential politicians, has been so strong that the government is helpless in doing justice to the growers. The farmers feel lawmakers are eventually the law-breakers. “The growers are cheated when sugarcane is weighed at factories, prices are fixed, sugar recovery rate are decided etc. The growers have no choice but to protest for their rights,’’ says cane grower Arun Patil.
CANE GROWERS PROTEST AT SUVARNA SOUDHA
A delegation of sugarcane growers from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and UP, along with MPs of respective states will meet Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on December 20 to ensure justice for cane growers, sources said. They will primarily demand Tomar to help fix a suitable price for cane based on what the factories earn in profits.
Cane growers from Karnataka have set December 23 as the deadline for the government to meet their demands. They have decided to stage an agitation near Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on December 26 when the winter session is on. “Cane growers from across the state will throng Suvarna Vidhan Soudha on that day,’’ said Shanthakumar.
Meetings in vain
Members of the Karnataka Sugarcane Growers Association have met Bommai and Sugar Minister Shankar Munenakoppa over the lat one week, but no logical solution has come up.
Munenakoppa directed sugar mill owners to give farmers Rs 50 per tonne from the profits earned from byproducts. This amount which comes on top of the FRP has failed to impress the growers and they have called it a mere eyewash. During their ongoing protest, they also burnt the copy of the order.
Shanthakumar said, “Farmers are burdened with huge debts. They are also bearing the cost of harvesting and transporting their produce, while factories are expected to take care of them. We demand at least Rs 200 per tonne from the profits earned by factories, and not just Rs 50.’’
Bommai, during the meeting at his official residence, assured farmers that he will help them get a good share of profits earned by factories. But the growers said, “The government should give this in writing and increase the amount given to us.” Earlier this week, when farmers were heading towards the G20 meeting venue near Devanahalli, Bengaluru, to stage a protest, the police detained them.
FACTORIES RAIDED
Based on complaints by cane growers that they were being cheated by factories, 21 sugar mills in six districts across the state were simultaneously raided by officials from the Departments of Sugar, Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and the police.
State president of the Bharatiya Krishik Samaj and member of Karnataka Sugarcane Control Board Siddagouda Modagi called the raids an eyewash and said raids failed to expose the lapses of sugar factories.
Several growers asked the government to reveal the outcome of the raids, and said the entire process of cheating by factories should be exposed. “Why can’t factories weigh sugarcane on the same weigh-bridge where sugar is weighed by them inside the factories,” Modagi asked.
WHOPPING 622 MT CANE CRUSHED IN 2022
Sources said of the 92 sugar factories in the state, 78 are operational. In 2022, they produced 59.78 MT of sugar by crushing 622.26 MT of sugarcane. In North Karnataka, sugarcane is mainly grown in Belagavi, Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts, and in the South, it is in Mandya.
‘NO SHORTAGE OF SUGARCANE’
The sugarcane yield from North Karnataka has been satisfactory in 2021-22. All the 42 sugar factories in Belagavi, Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts recorded bumper production and profits, but the growers have not been paid suitably. The guidelines from the government are not being followed by factories or officials, Modagi complained.
As per the Sugar Control Act, 1966, factories should clear the bills of growers within 14 days of receiving cane from them, but it is not being done. If there is any delay, factories are expected to settle the bills along with 15 per cent interest. Modagi suggested that the government digitise the process of sugarcane deals by developing a mobile app.
Already, the Uttar Pradesh government is using an app, where cane growers are sent alerts. “A message is flashed on cane growers’ mobiles once their sugarcane is ready to be harvested. Later, farmers are kept informed till they get their payments,’’ said Modagi.
There is ambiguity over the cost of transporting cane in Karnataka, resulting in losses for farmers. “In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the government bears the transport cost of cane up to 30 km. There is no such system in Karnataka,” he said.
FACT FILE
There are 92 sugar factories in the state of which, 78 are operational
Average sugar recovery rate is 10.5 in K’taka which is best in the country
In 2022, the government received 49 applications for setting up new sugar factories
Cane growers demand Rs 3,500 per tonne for cane
In 2021-22, the 78 factories processed 622.26 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane, produced 59.78 lakh metric tonnes of sugar
Government collects Rs 10,000 crore in taxes from sugar mills annually
INDIA SUGARCANE STATS
Uttar Pradesh is the highest producer of sugarcane with average production of 135.64 MT
UP, Karnataka and Maharashtra together contribute 80 per cent of total cane production in India