Bengaluru: Amid mounting protests by sugarcane farmers across North Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the Centre to step in and resolve the pricing crisis that has triggered widespread unrest. Farmers in several districts are demanding a fair increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane, claiming that rising input costs have made cultivation financially unsustainable.
For several days, sugarcane growers in Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Bidar, Gadag, Haveri, and Dharwad districts have taken to the streets, demanding a price revision beyond the ₹3,550 per tonne announced by the Union Government. Farmers argue that after deducting harvesting and transport costs which amount to nearly ₹900 per tonne they are left with only ₹2,600–₹3,000 per tonne, far below sustainable levels.
“The payment reaching farmers is grossly inadequate considering the surge in fertilizer, labour, irrigation, and transport costs,” Siddaramaiah said in his letter to the Prime Minister. He stressed that the root cause of the crisis lies in central policies, particularly the FRP formula, stagnant Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar, export restrictions, and underutilized ethanol capacity from sugar-based feedstock.
Siddaramaiah has called for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister, requesting a policy overhaul to safeguard farmers’ livelihoods and stabilize the sugarcane economy. He proposed that the Centre issue a notification allowing states to determine a net price for farmers after deducting harvesting and transport costs or direct sugar mills to absorb these expenses.
“Our farmers demand a net payment of ₹3,500 per tonne not as a premium, but as a bare minimum to sustain cultivation,” the Chief Minister wrote. He added that the state government has proactively held several rounds of dialogue with farmers and sugar mill owners but that a lasting solution requires intervention from the Union Government.
“The fundamental levers remain in the hands of the Centre,” Siddaramaiah emphasized, noting that the state has already advised sugar mills in Belagavi to pay ₹3,200 per tonne at 11.25% recovery and ₹2,310 per tonne at 10.25% recovery, excluding harvesting and transport costs. Despite these efforts, he acknowledged that the agitation has intensified and that farmer frustration is growing.
The Chief Minister further urged the Centre to:
• Recalibrate recovery rates linked to FRP calculations.
• Raise the sugar MSP above ₹31 per kg.
• Open a limited export window to clear excess stock and enable timely mill payments.
• Enhance ethanol procurement from Karnataka’s sugar industry.
• Implement faster payment protocols to ensure farmers are paid on time.
Protests have disrupted traffic, marketplaces, and transport services in key districts such as Belagavi, Bagalkot, and Vijayapura, where farmers have staged sit-ins outside government offices and sugar factories. The unrest prompted the Karnataka Cabinet to convene an emergency meeting on Thursday, where the issue was discussed at length.
Siddaramaiah has appealed to the farmers to call off their protest, assuring them that discussions with factory owners and farmer unions will be held on Friday to work toward a “mutually acceptable solution.”
Meanwhile, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, urged the Karnataka government to engage directly with farmers and mill owners to de-escalate tensions. “This is not the time for blame games. The state government should hold talks with all stakeholders to find an amicable solution rather than intensifying the confrontation,” Joshi said at a press briefing.
The Centre fixed the FRP for the 2025–26 sugar season at ₹3,550 per tonne for cane with a 10.25% sugar recovery rate. Over the years, the recovery benchmark has steadily increased from 9.5% in 2017–18 to 10.5% now effectively raising the bar for farmers to qualify for higher payments.
However, farmers argue that such policies disproportionately favor mills while burdening cultivators with escalating costs. With no immediate policy breakthrough, tensions remain high across North Karnataka’s sugar belt a region that forms the backbone of the state’s rural economy.
Siddaramaiah’s letter frames the crisis as a test of Centre-State cooperation, asserting that without central policy flexibility, state initiatives will remain limited in effect. “Our state has acted diligently, yet the crisis persists because the core policy controls are vested with the Union Government. A coordinated approach is essential to protect the livelihood of our farmers and the integrity of the sugarcane value chain,” the letter concluded.