Farmer organisations held a protest at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on Monday, demanding a farm-loan waiver, immediate drought compensation of at least ₹25,000 per acre and higher support for sugar cane. Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi, who visited the protest site, assured the organisations that a meeting with farmer leaders would be convened under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister within a week, according to Prajavani.
The demonstration was organised by the Karnataka State Federation of Farmers’ Organisations and the State Sugarcane Growers’ Association. It was led by Kuruburu Shanthakumar, president of the sugarcane growers’ association. The organisations said farmers across the state were facing crop losses, rising cultivation costs, inadequate electricity for irrigation and pressure from lenders.
The report said 217 taluks in Karnataka had been affected by severe drought and that crops had been damaged across about 2 million hectares. Farmer leaders estimated the crop losses at more than ₹20,000 crore. They said farmers had been unable to recover spending on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, labour, agricultural machinery and irrigation because of the rainfall deficit.
During the protest, the organisations collected ₹1 and ₹5 coins as a symbolic ‘alms’ contribution and prepared to hand over ₹1,770 to the government. The amount, along with a memorandum, was presented to Minister Jarkiholi. The protesters said they did not want government charity and instead sought measures that would address the financial distress caused by crop failure.
A major demand was an immediate waiver of agricultural loans in Karnataka. The farmer groups referred to loan-waiver measures in Maharashtra, up to ₹2 lakh, and Tamil Nadu while pressing for a similar decision in the state. They also sought a two-year halt to recovery of loans taken by rural women from private finance companies, along with strict legal action against coercive collection practices.
The organisations demanded that drought-affected farmers receive at least ₹25,000 per acre without delay. They also appealed to ministers and legislators to forgo their annual salaries and allowances during the crisis, with the savings directed towards farmer assistance. Another demand was reliable electricity for agricultural pump sets to protect crops that were drying because of inadequate irrigation power supply.
Sugarcane growers called for the Fair and Remunerative Price, or FRP, to be raised to ₹4,500 for a recovery rate of 10.25%. They also demanded that Karnataka introduce a State Advised Price of ₹800 per tonne above the FRP, citing rising sugarcane production costs and the state’s share of taxes from sugar-related by-products under the Sugarcane Control Order, 1966, as described in the report.
The groups further sought separate pricing for sugar used by commercial establishments and ordinary consumers. Areca-nut growers, who they said had suffered after prices fell following the gutka ban, were also included in the memorandum’s demands for an incentive scheme. The immediate administrative step announced at the protest is the proposed meeting between the Chief Minister and farmer representatives within a week.
