The indefinite protest by sugarcane farmers in Mudhol in Bagalkote district of Karnataka was called off on Friday, November 14, after sugar factory owners agreed to pay Rs 3,300 per tonne of cane regardless of the recovery rate, meeting a key demand of the agitating farmers.
The breakthrough came during a meeting chaired by Bagalkote District in-charge Minister RB Thimmapur, where factory owners agreed to clear all pending dues and implement the revised payment structure. They also assured that payments at the new rate would be made within 14 days of the cane supply. Following the agreement, factories resumed crushing operations on Friday.
Farmers were demanding a higher price for sugarcane, arguing that the rate fixed by the Union government – Rs 3,550 per tonne for the 2025–26 season at a 10.25% sugar recovery rate – did not reflect their rising input costs. After deducting harvesting and transport (H&T) expenses of about Rs 800-900 per tonne, farmers said they were effectively left with Rs 2,600-3,000 per tonne, which they say is unviable.
They wanted a net payment of Rs 3,500 per tonne (after H&T deductions) as the minimum required to sustain cultivation, accusing mills of delaying dues or underpaying despite directives from local authorities.
Sugarcane farmers in Belagavi, who had been agitating for nine days over prices amid a bumper sugarcane harvest, called off their protest on November 7 after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stepped in. The state government announced an increase in the purchase price from Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,300 per tonne, including a Rs 100 subsidy, Rs 50 each from the government and factory owners, over the Union government’s remunerative price. The decision came after a nearly seven-hour meeting between Siddaramaiah and factory owners in Bengaluru. Following the announcement, farmer leaders withdrew their protests across Belagavi, including a highway blockade near Hukkeri where minor stone-pelting incidents and police action had been reported earlier.
Meanwhile, Minister for Sugar, Textiles & Handlooms Shivanand Patil visited the Godavari Bio-Refineries Limited in Sameerwadi, Mudhol taluk, to inspect the damage caused during the unrest. On Thursday, miscreants allegedly set sugarcane-laden tractors on fire and pelted stones, destroying tractor engines, over 20 trailers and tyres and gutted sugarcane loaded in more than 100 tractors, along with four two-wheelers.
Patil said strict action would be taken against those involved. A team led by the Assistant Commissioner is assessing the losses, based on which the government will decide on compensation. The relief is expected to be provided either by the state government or the S Nijalingappa Sugar Institute in Belagavi.