Tea-Grand Conspiracy

Edible Oils: Political Imports WITH agriculture accounting for nearly 44 per cent of the national income, the need for organising reliable statistical data can scarcely be over-emphasised. Correct data are essential for proper planning for increased production and taking appropriate policy decisions on procurement, distribution, pricing, storage, marketing and even import. One cannot therefore fault the Union agriculture minister Rao Birendra Singh for urging statisticians and agricultural economists the other day to develop a reliable methodology for crop forecasting as also for estimating crop losses after harvesting. But is it not a severe indictment of the government's management of the economy that even after three decades of planning the Union agriculture minister should have deemed it necessary to emphasise the all-too-obvious need for developing a methodology for accurate crop forecasting?