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This has reference to the editorial “Crucial input for farmers” ( Business Line, February 14).

It rightly ponts out that agricultural statistics more often mislead, rather than inform.

There is no doubt that official published information should be authentic and accurate.

The timely collection and dissemination of correct data on acreage, input supplies, pest attacks, rainfall, agricultural production, quality of markets, etc., are essential for clearing uncertainties related to demand, supply and prices, as they affect the producers, consumers and speculators.

Decisions on sourcing, inventory, processing and marketing, cash-flow management, etc., are critically dependent on reliable information.

Cotton, groundnut and sugarcane are found in Kerala, for instance, only in certain areas of particular taluks in a few districts.

But, in the estimates of the agricultural department, hundreds of tonnes of the crops were said to be stocked in certain taluks, where no such crops actually existed at all.

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Economics and Statistics should jointly ensure that the data provided to farmers is accurate and dependable.

The quality of data collection, compilation and dissemination should not be sacrificed to save on costs of management, men and material.

T.V. Jayaprakash Palakkad

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