Sugarcane Farmers Demand Payment of Two-Year Pending Dues

Speedy Summary:

• Karnataka Sugarcane Farmers Federation (KPSS) members have demanded payment of dues for sugarcane supplied to factories over the past two years.
• Four factories – KPR Sugars, Renuka Sugars, Ugar Sugars, and NSL Sugars – crushed nearly 68.88 lakh tonnes of sugarcane from 55,417 growers during 2022-23 and 2023-24.
• Several factories paid less than the Fair Remunerative Price (FRP):

– Renuka sugars paid ₹2,550/tonne compared to an FRP of ₹3,282/tonne.
– NSL Sugars paid ₹2,450/tonne against an FRP of ₹3,018/tonne.
– Ugar Sugars paid ₹2,500/tonne versus an FRP of ₹3,150/tonne.

• Factories reportedly deducted higher harvesting and transportation charges (₹732/tonne instead of the fixed rate of ₹572), resulting in extra deductions totaling ₹15.96 crore for around 13,291 farmers.
• KPSS is seeking intervention from local authorities and has called on the Center to revise the sugar recovery rate from 10.25% to 8.5%.
• The federation demands a committee be formed to establish bilateral agreements between farmers and factories with a revised FRP set at ₹5,000 per tonne.

Indian Opinion Analysis:

The grievances highlighted by KPSS reflect longstanding issues regarding equitable payment structures in India’s agricultural sector-particularly among smallholder farmers who depend heavily on government-mandated pricing mechanisms such as FRPs for their livelihoods. The disparity between actual payments made by factories and fixed rates could erode trust among growers while exacerbating financial distress within farming communities.Additionally, KPSS’s call for revising recovery rates aligns with broader conversations about adapting policies to account for technological advancements or economic shifts in regions where sugar production is pivotal to rural employment and GDP contribution.Forming a formal bilateral agreement between growers and mill owners could add clarity but might require meaningful regulatory oversight-especially considering past instances where similar agreements faced implementation hurdles.Pending action by both administrative bodies at the district level as well as policy changes at national levels will likely determine weather these concerns are promptly addressed or become yet another contentious issue denting farmer morale across Karnataka’s agrarian landscape.

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