Afzalpur Sugarcane Farmers Demand ₹5,000 Support Price and Swaminathan Report Implementation

A conference of sugarcane growers was convened at Shetty Function Hall in Afzalpur town, organized jointly by the Swabhimani Sugarcane Farmers' Action Committee and the Afzalpur taluk unit of the Karnataka Sugarcane Farmers Association. Inaugurating the conference, N.L. Bharatraj, State General Secretary of the Karnataka Sugarcane Farmers Association, sharply criticized both the central and state governments for formulating policies that benefit sugar factory industrialists rather than agricultural workers. Highlighting the economic disparity, leaders noted that sugar factories generate revenue ranging from ₹13,000 to ₹14,000 per ton of sugarcane through various by-products, including sugar, ethanol, bagasse, molasses, co-generation electricity, distillery products, press mud, and bio-compost. Despite generating substantial excise revenue for the government through ethanol and spirit production, sugar mills continue to pay remuneratively low prices to cultivation farmers. The conference adopted resolutions demanding a mandatory support price of ₹5,000 per ton of sugarcane, the comprehensive implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission recommendations, and the proper enforcement of the State Advisory Price (SAP) for previous crop cycles. Local farmers emphasized that rising production costs, coupled with delayed mill payments, have pushed agrarian families across Afzalpur taluk into heavy financial distress, necessitating immediate government intervention.