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Bagalkot: The sugarcane growers’ protest in Bagalkot district intensified on Tuesday, with farmers' leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar demanding that the State Government fix the sugarcane price at Rs 3,500 per tonne, calling the current rate “unscientific and unfair to farmers.” Addressing farmers at the protest site at Sangolli Rayanna Circle in Mudhol, Chandrashekhar raised questions about the government siding with sugar factory owners while ignoring farmers’ interests. “If the government does not even know the actual recovery rate of sugar from cane, on whose advice is it fixing the price?” he asked. He pointed out that recovery rates — which indicate how much sugar is extracted from a tonne of sugarcane — vary across factories. “It varies from one factory to another. Who decides this recovery rate, and on what scientific basis?” he questioned. Chandrashekhar proposed that a committee comprising farmers, technical experts, factory representatives, and government officials be formed to scientifically determine the recovery rate. He proposed that the committee include two expert farmers, two technical experts, two people from sugar factories, and two government officials nominated by the Deputy Commissioner. “Just like a blood sugar test is done to know the level accurately, we can test sugarcane samples at different places of each sugarcane factory using modern machines to determine the recovery rate,” he said. He added that without establishing a yardstick for recovery rate, it was unfair for the government to accept whatever figures factory managements present. “First declare the recovery rate scientifically and then decide the price,” he asserted. Taking a political dig, Chandrashekhar alleged that several sugar factory owners were elected as legislators and participate in the State Cabinet meeting. “When business owners sit in the Cabinet, will they ever decide in favour of farmers?” he said, questioning farmers about voting for leaders who own sugar factories. Chandrashekhar also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government’s Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), stating that both the Central and State Governments must follow Dr. Swaminathan’s C2+50 formula while determining the price. “I feel farmers should get at least Rs 4,500 per tonne. But as farmers have been demanding, let the government give at least Rs 3,500, but not less,” he declared. “This is not about supporting or opposing any political party. When it comes to farmers, politics should be kept aside. This fight will continue until justice is done,” he said. He warned that if the government fails to revise the rate, protests would spread across the State in the coming days, with sugarcane growers from all districts joining the agitation.
