Farmers associations have urged the State government and legislators of all political parties to dedicate two days of the winter session to discuss issues related to farming.
Farmers held a meeting in the government guesthouse in Belagavi on Friday to press for their demands.
Farmers leaders Kurubur Shantakumar, Bapugouda Patil, S.B. Siddanal, Hattalli Devaraj, Yallappa Kulagod, Shankargouda Hosagoudar, Shivanand Bolettin and others were present.
Mr. Shantakumar, who is the State Sugarcane Growers Association president, said that various groups will send a memorandum to the chairpersons of both the Houses to consider their demand, along with the Chief Minister and Leaders of Opposition.
The State government should show that it is serious about the winter session. The 10-day session should be about the problems faced by the people. They have to dedicate at least two days to discuss issues related to farmers, he said.
The meeting resolved to submit a memorandum to the government regarding this.
The prevailing drought condition should be of prime importance. Otherwise, the session will be meaningless, he said.
He also demanded that the government announce complete loan farm waiver during the winter session. The Union government should immediately revise the NDRF compensation norms and quantity.
Due to the drought, the production of sugarcane has reduced by half. However, factories are not offering higher prices to sugarcane suppliers. In fact, farmers should get prices higher than Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) as factories are making money not only through the sale of sugar but also ethanol, power, bagasse, bio-fertilisers, oxygen and other products.
“We have urged the Union government to include sugarcane cultivation under MGNREGA. Most factories are underpaying farmers by showing low weight and low yields. This can be stopped if the State government forces factories to fit hi-tech machines in these sections and if officials keep randomly inspecting factories. The Agriculture Price Commission has declared that the cost of production of a tonne of sugarcane is ₹3,580, but the Union government has fixed FRP less than this,” he said.
He said that several national organisations will jointly organise a protest to seek complete farm loan waiver, 10 hours of uninterrupted power supply, among other demands, in Bengaluru on December 23. “Our argument is that if the Union government can waive ₹25 lakh crore of corporate loans, then it can surely waive all farm loans,” he said.
The other demands include payment of pensions to old farmers, implementing the M.S. Swaminathan Committee report and ensuring remunerative prices for farm produce.
