IIMA launches Index to help record data on agri land prices

Hyderabad: Premier management institute Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) and agri-land marketplace SFarmsIndia have launched the IIMA-SFarmsIndia Agri Land Price Index (ISALPI). The land price index will record and present data on prices of agricultural lands across the country. This index is important in terms of benchmarking land prices in rural and semi-urban areas […]

Hyderabad: Premier management institute Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) and agri-land marketplace SFarmsIndia have launched the IIMA-SFarmsIndia Agri Land Price Index (ISALPI).

The land price index will record and present data on prices of agricultural lands across the country. This index is important in terms of benchmarking land prices in rural and semi-urban areas and serves as a reliable source that will signal potential conversion of agricultural land into real estate.

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Unlike financial assets, developing an index for land parcels is a complex task. That is because of visible price differences in different listings caused by multiple factors including supply-demand factors.

ISALPI has been put together using the regression-based hedonic pricing method. In this method, a price is usually the dependent variable and other attributes are independent variables. It addresses disparities and ensures accuracy. The Misra Centre for Financial Markets and Economy at IIMA will host this index on its website.

“With just over 200 million hectares, India houses 2% of the world’s cropped land but feeds over 15% of the world’s population. Recently, we have witnessed a surge in entrepreneurial interest in agricultural land and allied professions: From agricultural engineering to precision farming, from food technology to supply chain management and green energy. We believe it is the right time to launch such an index for India,” said Prof Errol D’Souza, IIMA Director.

Currently, ISALPI is based on land listing data from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Data from other States will be added shortly.

The index can benefit policy makers, local governments, environmentalists, investors, real estate developers and financiers. For instance, the index can be used by local governments to compensate the people who lose land for highway expansion.

“SFarmsIndia has a focus on data warehousing and mining aimed at bringing agri-realty domain-specific AI capabilities to the market. The collaboration with IIMA to develop an Agri-land price index (ISALPI) is a step in this regard,” said Kamesh Mupparaju, SFarmsIndia CEO.