Haveri: Facing pressure from protesting sugarcane farmers, the Karnataka government has agreed to set up a dedicated laboratory in Haveri district to measure sugar recovery. Sugar recovery is the percentage of sugar extracted from a fixed amount of crushed cane. Farmers have long demanded a separate facility, alleging that recovery rates dropped sharply after private companies took over the cooperative-run factory two decades ago. They said the recovery, which once exceeded 10%, has fallen to about 9.6% across district units, reducing their payments, lower than the Rs. 3,300 paid in other regions, reported The Times of India.
The protest in Haveri intensified this week, with farmers insisting on both an independent laboratory and a separate weighing system. At present, each factory calculates recovery in its own facility. The S Nijalingappa Sugar Institute in Belagavi is one of the recognised bodies for testing recovery, but growers said they have lost trust in the measurements and want a dedicated lab within the district, as per the news report.
Farmers argued that soil conditions, water supply, climate, and harvesting timelines have remained unchanged, yet the recovery rate has steadily declined.
“We have told the farmers that a separate laboratory will be set up in Haveri district. The government will cover all the costs, and the farmers will look after the lab and the digital weighing machine,” said Shivanand Patil, Minister in charge of Sugar and Haveri district, in place of his earlier statement.
“The situation of sugarcane farmers is the result of the district’s leaders not taking the issue seriously. The district must get its own recovery lab and weighing system,” said Bhuvaneshwar Shidlapur, Haveri district president of the State Sugarcane Growers’ Association, rephrasing his earlier remarks.
