Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar arrived in Belagavi on Monday, 26 October to chair back-to-back meetings with sugar mill owners and protesting sugarcane farmers, as growers across North Karnataka intensified highway blockades demanding a remunerative price for the 2026-27 crushing season. The talks, held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, are being watched closely as a potential turning point for a standoff that has already spilled onto the Pune-Bengaluru and Bengaluru-Mysuru highways.

Schedule of Meetings

Shivakumar is scheduled to meet sugar factory owners at 11 a.m., followed by a separate session with sugarcane farmer representatives at 3.30 p.m., both at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi. The Chief Minister chose to travel to Belagavi rather than summon stakeholders to Bengaluru, signalling the urgency he attaches to the crisis.

Speaking to reporters in Kittur, Belagavi district, Shivakumar said: 'I will not talk about what governments in other states are offering their sugarcane farmers. First, our farmers in Karnataka must survive. I will discuss this issue. That is why I have come here, rather than holding a meeting in Bengaluru.'

What Farmers Are Demanding

Farmer organisations — chiefly the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene — have outlined three core demands: a total sugarcane price of ₹5,500 per tonne, an additional State Advised Price (SAP) of ₹1,000 per tonne from the Karnataka government, and a higher Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar from the Centre. They have also called for a dedicated fund of ₹500 crore to address grower distress.

The Central government fixed the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) at ₹365 per quintal for 2026-27, up from ₹355 the previous year — a revision farmers argue is insufficient to offset rising fertiliser, labour, and transport costs.

The Government's Position

Shivakumar acknowledged the complexity of the issue, noting that mill owners must be financially viable before any additional payout to farmers can be enforced. 'I will speak to sugar mills and farmers. I must also listen to their views. Earlier, we gave farmers an additional amount of ₹300 per quintal, and the previous Siddaramaiah government provided ₹50. We have also asked mill owners to contribute,' he said, adding that consultations with other states had already been conducted.

This is not the first time Belagavi has been the site of sugarcane agitations; the region's heavy dependence on the crop — and the cyclical pricing disputes between growers and mills — have made such confrontations a recurring feature of Karnataka's agricultural calendar.

Protest Situation on Ground

Even as talks were being arranged, farmers blocked a state highway in Belagavi, disrupting traffic. Farmer leaders have warned of a Karnataka Bandh on 27 October if Monday's discussions yield no concrete outcome, and have set a broader deadline of 26 November for the Union government to respond to MSP and committee demands. The Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has separately urged the state government to act swiftly, citing ongoing drought conditions and mounting cultivation debt among growers.

What Happens Next

The outcome of Monday's dual-track meetings is expected to determine whether the protests — including the threat of a state-wide shutdown — are de-escalated or intensified. With the crushing season underway and growers already strained by drought, any delay in resolution risks compounding economic losses for one of Karnataka's most economically significant agricultural communities.