Farmers to lay siege to Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on August 20

Members of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers’ Association will lay siege to the Vidhana Soudha on August 20, seeking the implementation of their long-pending demands.

At a press conference here on Saturday, H. Bhagyaraj, president of the sugarcane growers’ association, said that farmers will also hold a ‘satyagraha’ at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.

Though the country celebrated Independence Day on August 15,there was little for farmers to celebrate as the government had failed to ensure scientific pricing for agricultural produce, he said.

Mr. Bhagyaraj said that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for 2025-26 should be fixed at ₹4,500 per ton, and harvesting and transportation costs must be borne by the sugar factories.

The farmers also expressed concern that the weighing scales are not scientifically calibrated, as a result of which they suffer losses. This should be avoided by installing the weighing scales in front of the factories so that the farmers can monitor the process as well, they said.

Mr. Bhagyaraj pointed out that the factories owed dues to the tune of ₹950 crores to sugarcane farmers, and added that this should be cleared immediately.

Drawing attention to the shortage of fertilizers, the association said that the issue has been politicised by both the State and the Centre, and that it was the responsibility of the governments to ensure the availability of fertilizers and its smooth distribution. The authorities were urged to crack down on traders creating artificial scarcity by hoarding fertilizer stocks or selling them at a price higher than the rates fixed by the government.

Mr. Bhagyaraj urged the government to implement the Mekedatu project without further delay, and blamed the Centre and the State for failing to expedite the works.

The farmers stated that banks tend to insist on CIBIL scores before releasing agricultural loans, and hence urged the government to change the policy and delink CIBIL scores from farm loans. Any delay in repayment of loan due to crop failure or vagaries of nature has a negative bearing on the CIBIL score and affects the farmers, the association said.

Drawing attention to the low penetration of crop insurance among farmers, the association said that the policy and insurance schemes should be tweaked to make a particular land of the farmer concerned as the unit area of insurance. When the unit area for crop insurance is too large, individual farmers suffer because damage to their crops may be overlooked and their claims rejected, if conditions in other parts of the area are considered normal, it added.

Other demands included immediate release of ₹1,000 crore by way of incentives which is pending for dairy farmers, establishment of crop and milk procurement centres at the gram panchayat level, rescinding the Land Reforms Act and APMC (Amendment) Act, implementation of the recommendations of M.S. Swaminathan Committee, a law ensuring statutory guarantee of Minimum Support Price for farmers’ produce, etc.