Sugarcane farmers likely to pause Hubballi padayatra, await Delhi rally signal

Sugarcane farmers in Karnataka are likely to temporarily withdraw their Hubballi Chalo padayatra on Monday, the sixth day of their agitation for better sugarcane prices, farmer leaders said. The march is expected to resume after a farmers’ rally in New Delhi on October 23 called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, they added.

Leaders participating in the protest met near Tegur village on the border of Belagavi and Dharwad districts to discuss the next steps. Some of them said the farmers had been away from their fields since October 13 and that the sugarcane crop was drying because of a lack of rainfall and corrective irrigation.

Others said the messages sent by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar should be taken to the villages and feedback obtained from more farmers before any decision on the agitation. Shivakumar assured farmers in Kittur on Saturday that he would convene a meeting of farmers, sugar factory owners and officers next week. He agreed to consider the demand for a State Advised Price of ₹1,000 per tonne of sugarcane supplied.

Some farmer leaders said the Central panel set up to look into the Minimum Selling Price for sugar and the Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane should be given some time. The leaders decided to announce a temporary halt to the padayatra on Monday and to resume it next week. The announcement is likely to be made on Monday afternoon.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha is a platform of farmer organisations. Its Delhi rally is expected to take up a pan-India protest for better sugarcane prices. Farmer leaders said senior leaders will decide on such a protest at the rally, and the agitation in Karnataka will resume once a signal is received from there.

Earlier, the farmers had given Union Minister Pralhad Joshi a deadline till Sunday evening to announce a decision on revising MSP and the Fair and Remunerative Price. Farmer leader Chunappa Pujeri told reporters that they had decided to withdraw the agitation if the Union government sent a message, but no message had been received.

The protest highlights the continuing negotiations over cane pricing. Karnataka announces a State Advised Price for sugarcane, while the Centre fixes the Fair and Remunerative Price. Farmers have been demanding higher support prices and better market access. Sugar factories, meanwhile, face their own financial and operational pressures.

Former MLA Srimant Patil, who is also the chairman of a sugar factory, said he supported the protesting farmers. He said it was the first time in over three decades that he had seen farmers take out a rally in support of sugar factories. He described himself as a farmer first and a factory chairman later, and said he understood the problems of both sides.

Patil said farmers and factories have a symbiotic relationship and need each other to survive. A higher Minimum Selling Price for sugar and increased market access for factories would help both, he said.