India Launches Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg)

• 16 Sep 2023

On 15^th September, 2023, India introduced the Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg), an innovative online platform developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DA & FW), marking a significant milestone in agricultural data management.

Key Points

• Reduced Search Costs: The UPAg Portal is envisioned as a public good, reducing search costs and enhancing access to reliable, detailed, and unbiased agricultural data.
• Crop Estimates and Integration: The platform is designed to generate crop estimates and integrate with other systems that produce agriculture statistics, including price, trade, procurement, and stock data, according to an official statement.
• Tackling Data Challenges: The Agriculture Ministry stated that the UPAg portal would address various challenges such as the absence of standardized data, unverified data, and scattered data.
• Facilitating Data-Driven Decisions: The Agriculture Ministry stated that the UPAg initiative aims to offer real-time, standardized, and verified agricultural commodity data, enabling data-driven decision-making for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders.