Swabhimani's cane-price motorcycle rally in Kolhapur district on Sunday: the Hatkanangale to Kasba Sangav route, the demand, and this season's FRP

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana will take out a motorcycle rally across Kolhapur district on Sunday, 25 October 2026, demanding that sugar mills not begin this season's crushing until they announce the first instalment (the initial payment) for cane. The organisation's leader and former MP Raju Shetti announced the rally at a press conference in Kolhapur on Wednesday, 21 October. He said the aim was to make farmers aware of the price issue and to put the administration on notice.

When and where

• Day: Sunday, 25 October 2026
• Start: Hatkanangale, 9.30 am
• Route (as given by the organisation): Kumbhoj, Narande, Vadgaon, Warana factory, Male, Waghbil, Porle, Padal, Kumbhi factory, Mahe, Parite, Bidri factory, Walwa, Khebavde, Bamani, Siddhanerli, Kagal
• End: a public meeting at Chavdi Chowk, Kasba Sangav
• Talukas covered: Hatkanangale, Panhala, Karvir and Kagal

What exactly is being demanded

At the press conference Shetti did not give a fresh figure. He asked for a 'fair first instalment' and said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should, as Karnataka's leadership has done, direct the state's mills to announce cane prices and hold talks so the season starts at a fair rate. He warned that the agitation would be stepped up otherwise.

The organisation set out its figures at its 25th sugarcane conference in Jaysingpur on 10 October. According to the resolutions read out there, as reported by Saamana and Pudhari, the main demands are:

• A first instalment of ₹5,500 per tonne for the current season
• A ₹500 per tonne subsidy from the Centre and the state to make up for losses from falling sugar recovery
• ₹300 per tonne extra for cane harvested after 15 December
• A minimum selling price for sugar of ₹50 per kg and an ethanol price of ₹70 per litre
• Immediate drought relief of ₹1 lakh per hectare

Reports differ on the figures. eSakal, and ChiniMandi citing The Times of India, put the first-instalment demand at ₹5,000 per tonne. The news agency UNI reported a total of ₹5,500, made up of a ₹4,500 first instalment, ₹500 after the season and a ₹500 central grant. We have not been able to see the organisation's written resolution independently.

The Centre's FRP for 2026-27

The FRP (fair and remunerative price) is the minimum price mills are legally bound to pay farmers. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved it for the 2026-27 season on 5 May 2026, on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), according to PIB.

• Base price: ₹365 per quintal, or ₹3,650 a tonne, at a basic recovery of 10.25%
• ₹3.56 per quintal more for every 0.1 percentage point of recovery above 10.25%, and the same amount less for every 0.1 point below it
• No deduction for mills with recovery under 9.5%; their farmers get ₹338.3 per quintal
• 2.81% higher than 2025-26; cost of production (A2+FL) put at ₹182 per quintal
• Applies to cane bought from 1 October 2026

Each mill's actual FRP therefore varies with its own sugar recovery under this formula.

When the crushing season starts

A ministerial committee chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, meeting at Sahyadri Guest House on 9 September 2026, approved 15 October as the start of the 2026-27 season. Sugar Commissioner Dr Sanjay Kolte said licensed mills could begin on or before 15 October, that an early start was not compulsory, and that licences were going only to mills that had paid the previous season's FRP in full.

Sarkarnama reported that by 19 October, 131 of the 212 mills that applied (67 cooperative, 64 private) had received crushing licences. More than 50 mills in Ahilyanagar, Solapur and Marathwada had started, while crushing in western Maharashtra had been partly held up by the agitation. In Sangli district, Saam TV reported that the organisation stopped more than 150 cane-laden tractors in Kadegaon taluka.

What the government and mills have said

• Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (14 October) appealed to protesters to cooperate so crushing could begin early. He said Karnataka's mills had started on 1 October, that a delay could let them draw cane from Maharashtra, and that lower cane availability this year would shorten the season.
• Former cooperation minister Dilip Walse Patil (12 October, at the season launch of Bhimashankar cooperative sugar mill) asked where mills, already in difficulty, would find a ₹5,000 first instalment.
• Bidri (Doodhganga Vedganga) mill chairman K. P. Patil said drought, rising costs and central policy on sugar and ethanol made the season difficult, that the FRP increase was limited, and that the Centre had not yet raised the sugar selling price. He said Bidri would keep up its record of paying a high rate, without giving a figure.
• At Chhatrapati Rajaram cooperative mill (17 October), former MLA Mahadevrao Mahadik and MLA Amal Mahadik said the mill would stay shut until the price question is resolved.
• Shetti said Union Minister Prahlad Joshi had told farmer groups that a central committee would decide on the sugar minimum selling price before 20 November.
• In Karnataka, D. K. Shivakumar has called growers and mill representatives to a meeting in Belagavi on Monday, 26 October.

For farmers and travellers

• Check the rate your mill announces through its official notice or its field (gat) office.
• Your mill's FRP depends on its sugar recovery; ₹365 per quintal is only the base rate at 10.25% recovery.
• Expect heavy two-wheeler traffic on the rally route in Hatkanangale, Panhala, Karvir and Kagal talukas from Sunday morning; allow extra time and follow police directions.

Sources: Agrowon: rally route and timing, 21 October 2026; ChiniMandi: Shetti's press conference, 22 October 2026; ChiniMandi (citing The Times of India): rally and sugar MSP, 22 October 2026; Saamana: sugarcane conference resolutions, 12 October 2026; Pudhari: ₹5,500 first-instalment demand, 15 October 2026; eSakal: Jaysingpur sugarcane conference, 10 October 2026; UNI: demands at the sugarcane conference, 10 October 2026; PIB: FRP for 2026-27, 5 May 2026; TV9 Marathi: ministerial committee decision, 9 September 2026; ChiniMandi: Sugar Commissioner's directions, 28 September 2026; Sarkarnama: crushing licences and season status, 20 October 2026; ChiniMandi: Chief Minister's appeal, 15 October 2026; Sarkarnama: Dilip Walse Patil's remarks, 12 October 2026; ChiniMandi: Bidri mill season launch, 22 October 2026; ChiniMandi: protest at Rajaram mill, 17 October 2026; Saam TV: agitation in Sangli district