Bagalkot farmers decided to withdraw their protest

Sugar mills in Bagalkot have promised a base price of ₹3,800 per tonne of sugarcane. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO

Sugarcane growers in Bagalkot district decided to call off their agitation after mills promised a base price of ₹3,800 per tonne.

Leaders told reporters in Mudhol on Friday that they accept the bid price with certain conditions that the factories agree to share profits from the sale of by-products and that the factories maintain transparency in their operations.

Their other terms include a tripartite agreement between farmers, factories and the state government, advance payment of ₹3,800 crore before the end of the crushing season and timely payment of additional payments.

A team of senior officers, including Deputy Commissioner Sangappa and Superintendent of Police Siddarth Goel, facilitated three rounds of talks between factories and farmers. The agreement was concluded at the last meeting on Thursday.

The deal was struck when farmers backed down from their original demand of ₹5,500 per tonne and mills agreed to raise the offer price to ₹3,800, a senior officer involved in the talks told reporters in Bagalkot on Friday.

Officials said the Nirani group of companies led by former minister Murugesh Nirani was the first to bid ₹3,800 per tonne, ₹200 above Belagavi’s offer and ₹500 above the average price paid to farmers last year.

Later, officials from Godavari Sugars, Prabhulingeshwara, ICPL and other factories announced that they were honoring the offer.

Sugarcane growers have been protesting in Bagalkot, Mudhol and Jamkhandi for over a week. They rejected the bid price of ₹3,600 offered by the factories in a meeting chaired by minister Satish Jarkiholi in Belagavi.

They set up a platform named after late farmer leader Ramesh Gadadannavar and sat on a dharna. They said they would not budge until the mills offered ₹5,500 per tonne. However, the protest ended on Friday.

Most of the 13 factories are expected to start crushing immediately, officials said.

Farmer leader Eerappa Hanchinal claimed that they will not accept ₹3,600 as it is a result of political negotiation.

He criticized Belagavi leaders Chunappa Pujeri and Shashikant Padasalagi Guruji for accepting the offer of ₹3,600. He said the earlier offer did not take into account the cost of cultivation and the rising cost of living.

He demanded proper implementation of the recommendations of the C. Rangarajan and MS Swaminathan committees.

Published – 13 Nov 2026 21:14 IST