Sugarcane farmers set October 10 deadline for FRP hike, warn of State-wide agitation in Karnataka

The Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association has said it will launch a State-wide agitation if the Centre does not raise the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane by October 10.

Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar told a press conference in Mysuru on Wednesday that a delegation of office bearers met Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi at his office in New Delhi on September 3 and submitted a memorandum seeking an increase in the FRP.

The association has demanded an FRP of ₹4,500 a tonne for cane with a recovery rate of 10.25%, ₹4,850 for a recovery rate of 11.25%, ₹5,200 for 12.25% and ₹5,550 for 13.25%. The FRP is the minimum price that sugar mills are required to pay growers, fixed by the Centre on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. The recovery rate refers to the quantity of sugar extracted from a given quantity of cane.

“If the FRP is not increased by October 10, the association will launch a State-wide agitation against the Union and State governments,” Mr. Shanthakumar warned.

For the 2025-26 season, the Centre had fixed an FRP of ₹3,550 a tonne at a basic recovery rate of 10.25%. Grower groups and mills have been pressing for a revision ahead of the new crushing season.

On State-level issues, Mr. Shanthakumar said the State government had fixed sugarcane harvesting and transportation charges at ₹800 a tonne. He urged farmers to lodge complaints with their respective Deputy Commissioners if sugar mills deducted any amount over the stipulated charges.

At a recent meeting of the Sugarcane Control Board, farmer representatives asked Sugar Minister Rudrappa Lamani and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Rizwan Arshad to fix an additional State Advised Price (SAP) of ₹800, on the lines of Tamil Nadu. Unlike the FRP, which is set by the Centre, an SAP is an additional price fixed by some States over and above the central floor price.

State Convenor Baradanapura Nagaraj demanded the renewal of existing loans and the disbursal of fresh loans to farmers in drought-hit areas, saying the existing NABARD scheme was not beneficial to growers. He also sought a waiver of crop loans for farmers in drought-affected areas.

Drought has been declared in 177 taluks, but the government has not yet conducted a crop-loss assessment in several areas, Mr. Shanthakumar said. He urged the government to release crop-loss compensation without delay, saying farmers were being made to wait for relief.

The association also questioned the State’s spending on Dasara festivities at a time when Karnataka is facing an electricity shortage and standing crops are drying up for want of power. “Misusing electricity in the name of Dasara festivities, the government was betraying the farmers,” the association said.

No immediate response to the association’s demands from the Union or State governments was available at the time of the press conference.

Separately, 30 farmer leaders from Karnataka will take part in a national convention on “Ethanol production from sugarcane and agriculture produce and its benefits to the farmers”, to be held in Mumbai on September 27 and 28, he said.

State Organising Secretary Athalli Devaraj, State Convenor Baradanapura Nagaraj and district vice-president Neelakanthappa were among those present at the press conference.