India's rising sugar prices stem from inefficient agricultural data and flawed ad hoc policies, not primarily from sugarcane diversion for ethanol. The government's gross overestimations of cane output led to ill-timed export permissions, followed by import bans, exacerbating shortages. Similar issues plague other commodities like onions and wheat. Concerns are also raised about ethanol blending's impact on food security, with maize diversion affecting fodder availability. Coupled with looming El Niño risks, these faulty market intelligence systems and erratic policy decisions detrimentally affect both farmers and consumers, underscoring systemic governance failures in agricultural management.