Karnataka farmer groups set price demands before meeting CM Shivakumar

Nearly 30 farmer leaders finalized a set of price demands to hand to Karnataka Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on October 26 in Belagavi. The group met online on Sunday, October 25, to draft the list after separate talks in Gurlapur near the Belagavi‑Bagalkot border. Leaders Chunappa Pujeri and Shashikant Padasalagi warned they would call a state‑wide bundh on Tuesday if the demands are not met. Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi said he could not attend because of a pre‑scheduled meeting in New Delhi, a point the farmers called disappointing. The demands focus on revising the minimum selling price for sugar and raising the Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane. Farmers also asked for transparent price fixing instead of a single “magic number” and urged that sugar mills bear harvest and transport costs by treating all prices as ex‑field. They pressed the centre to reverse its decision not to buy sugarcane‑based ethanol and to follow the C. Rangarajan committee’s suggestion that farmers share profits from ethanol, power, molasses and other by‑products. Professor Kammaradi called for an open online portal to track factory harvest, transport and payments, while Shantkumar proposed a State Advised Price similar to Tamil Nadu and strict action against non‑compliant mills. Some younger farmers noted a lack of unity between north and south Karnataka groups, and a few opposed the idea that the state could set a remunerative SAP without central FRP approval.

Context

Price talks like these reflect ongoing tension between Karnataka’s sugar industry and farmer unions, with the state often seeking to balance farm income and mill profitability.