Data Gaps in Agricultural Statistics:Some Issues

Abstract

The agricultural sector in India, though dominant in terms of employment, suffers from stagnation and under performance. This calls for policy intervention. However, prior to formulating policy, it is necessary to audit this sector which requires data on a large number of variables. While agricultural statistics has matured over the years, data gaps do exist which are a constraint to useful statistical analysis. This paper attempts to reveal certain gaps in continuous data on an annual basis for important variables such as cost of production, agricultural wages, retail prices, etc. Availability of this data will facilitate more meaningful and precise analysis of the agricultural sector.