cost of proauction). These data, when compared with the basic agri­ cultural statjstic~. enable the planner to understand ho~ the farmers managed the resources and constraints together. Roughly speaking .. if the basic agricultural statistics give inaications of the aesir3ble structural changes (investl'llents in irrigation projects, agrarian reform. etc .. ) the anatysis of current data helps the planner to tune such economic policy measures as price policy. input subsidfe~ and maraeting po,icy. If basic and current agr a cui tura 1 data give a good pi'cture of the agricultural production process~ they are far from being sufficient for comprehensi've developmf!nt planning and must be supportea by more synthetic inf->rmation on the o-verall rural and national economy. fhese economic and so-cio-economic indicators or aggregates have a dou­ ble utility in planning: at th~ preparator) stage, and for monitoring and eva)uatin~ the plan effectiveness. The economic aggregates and indicators have as an objective to provide synthetic information on the physical and financial environ­ ment of the agricultural production economy. These indicators ~ould incluae information on the national economic accounts~ balance of pay­ ments and data on populdtion and nutrition. Since the topics of national accounts and foreign trade for agricuftyre are covered by other papers. "this study wi 11 mention t>rief1 y the &mport,mce of accu­ rate data on population and nutrition for medium and tong-term planning. These data are essential for the preparation of demand pro­ jection for agriculturdl p.-oducts and ·the formul ation of q.-owth madet~. The first step before demand projection is the estab1 ishment of food ba1ance sheets, i.e. supply-utilization accounts of the main food commodities. However, foo1 balance sheets cannot provide esti­ mates of consumptjon patterns between different populdtion grou~s, nor can they be a bdse for demana projections. Thus the projected demand 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be focused on the planning and management of agricultural production, discussing the importance of data and statistics in informing policy decisions and projecting demand for agricultural products. It also touches on the broader context of the national economy and rural development. Given this focus on agricultural planning and management, it is likely that the text is most closely related to the field of agriculture.

**Category**
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Economic development