Karnataka Sugarcane crushing season delayed, farmers hit hard
Sugarcane farmers in Belagavi face challenges from delayed crushing, persistent rains, labor shortages due to Maharashtra elections, and low prices. Increased plantation area to 3 lakh hectares hasn’t mitigated yield and quality risks. Farmers demand price revisions, timely payments, and stricter enforcement. Labor and byproduct shortages have also stalled jaggery production, adding to farmers’ financial strain.
Belagavi: Sugarcane farmers in the Belagavi district are facing new challenges as the delayed start of the crushing season is adding to existing issues such as reduced price and yield. Despite an increase in plantation area to 3 lakh hectares from 2.8 lakh hectares last year, delays risk reducing sugarcane quality and output.Out of 76 sugar factories spread over 16 districts in the state, 29 are functioning in Belagavi district. The other major sugar-producing districts in the state are Bagalkot (13 factories), Vijayapura (9), Mandya (5), Bidar (5), Kalaburagi (4), and Haveri (2).The sugarcane farmers are facing many issues this year too, including the burden of debt, continued rain in the last week of Nov, unavailability of workers, and the worry of sugarcane drying up. In addition to this, the ongoing assembly elections in neighbouring Maharashtra have also affected Karnataka’s sugar mills and farmers.
The sugar factories in 16 districts of Karnataka state crush 586 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane annually. About 1,300 groups of 10-15 members each visit Karnataka from Maharashtra for harvesting. Every year in Oct, these groups come to Karnataka. Due to the current election season, workers are not available for sugarcane harvesting. Due to this, the sugarcane growers are worried that the yield will be affected.
Sandeep, a farmer from Chikodi, said that this year, even in the fourth week of Nov, the rain is not giving them a break. “So we are waiting for the land to dry up for harvesting. The sugar factories in Belagavi district are expected to start in the first week of Dec,” he said.Ramesh, an owner of sugarcane transport tractors, said that the central govt has fixed a fair and remunerative price (FRP) ranging from 2,850 to 3,500 per tonne on average, depending on the respective region. As sugar mills are reducing the cost of harvesting, the farmers are getting as low as 2,650-2,900 per tonne of sugarcane. There are numerous jaggery mills in Belagavi district—in Raibag, Athani, Chikodi, and Belagavi taluk. Usually, once the sugarcane crushing season is over or simultaneously, the jaggery mills start production.
The production of jaggery has also not started due to the non-availability of byproducts from sugar factories.Sidagouda, a farmer leader, said: “We demand that price revision should be done before sugarcane harvesting. Govt weighing machines should be installed in all factories. Wages of harvesting labourers and transport costs should be fixed in advance. Factories have to pay interest if they delay issuing bills to farmers. The district administration, instead of issuing notices to the sugar mills, should take strict action if the arrears are not paid to the farmers.”Shivanagouda Patil, the joint director of the agriculture department, said the department is extending cooperation to solve the problems of the farmers.
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Source Link : Times Of India
