Unlocking agriculture’s full potential with blockchain and innovative technology

Blockchain has been recognized for its potential to transform finance and other industries that rely on data, but what happens when innovation meets the world’s oldest industry – agriculture? It turns out that blockchain has a lot to offer the food and agriculture sectors, especially when combined with other innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), satellites and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The agriculture sector can join the technology revolution to upgrade all aspects related to transactions and data. For example, blockchain can streamline processes related to the supply chain by increasing traceability and bringing automation to the table.

A report by InsightAce Analytics found that blockchain in the agriculture and food supply chain is a market valued at over $280 million as of 2022, and is expected to grow to over $7 billion by 2031, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43, 76% in this period.

How can blockchain help agricultural businesses?

Thanks to its unique architecture that involves decentralization, blockchain ensures the highest possible degree of transparency and traceability, which are key elements in the agricultural sector. Decentralized networks enable participants, including farmers, producers, retailers and exporters, to monitor and manage major challenges emerging in the supply chain. Eventually, blockchain records can be used for analytics purposes to improve various aspects of the supply chain.

The adoption of blockchain in agriculture can also help comply with regulations and reporting. By ensuring the delivery of accurate, up-to-date, tamper-proof data, stakeholders can make better-informed decisions and implement proper corporate governance. Decentralized networks also facilitate the distribution of certification data between relevant parties.

In addition to transparency, blockchain can facilitate other advances in the agricultural sector. For example, it can enable better management of land rights, more efficient tracking of food safety and improved traceability of inputs such as seeds and fertiliser.

Farmers can utilize permit-less and permit-less solutions

Tech giants have realized the potential of decentralized ledger technology for agriculture. For example, IBM provides businesses with a permissioned blockchain platform called IBM Food Trust, which offers several features, including proof of origin, traceability, fraud monitoring and documentation, among others.

Agricultural enterprises can also utilize blockchain solutions that rely on public networks, which ensure a higher degree of decentralization and security. One example is Dimitra, an AgTech company that aims to help farmers reduce the amount of labor required to complete manual tasks by integrating the technology stack, which combines blockchain, AI, IoT, drones and satellites.

Source: Dimitra

Dimitra offers digital solutions to help farmers gather data to make smarter and faster decisions to improve yields and increase sustainability.

For Dimitra CEO Jon Trask, the integration of blockchain and other innovative technologies into agricultural processes is natural and crucial. He said: “Every small farmer, regardless of economic status, should be able to benefit from simple, beautiful and useful technology, because when farmers thrive, economies thrive.”

Dimitra offers four main applications for AgTech:

• Connected Farmer — this flagship platform aims to help small-scale farmers document agricultural practices, generate and source comprehensive dashboard reports and provide guidance to help them make well-informed choices. The platform relies on blockchain and uses several other innovative technologies to provide farmers with valuable data. The advanced version of the platform includes features such as a sensor management module, satellite and weather, an online agricultural marketplace, as well as track, trace and export documents.
• Livestock Guru – the platform uses DNA data to monitor animal lineage. Identification of parents and carriers of recessive traits improves the selection process for reproduction in herds, ultimately leading to superior quality and more robust livestock products.
• Connected Coffee — this all-in-one solution allows coffee farmers, traders and other stakeholders to grow and distribute coffee worldwide. This smart farming and supply chain management app tracks the movement of coffee from cultivation to distribution.
• Deforestation platform – The EU has banned the import of products linked to deforestation, such as palm oil, cattle, soy and timber. Products from farms involved in deforestation after December 2020 are prohibited. To comply, consumer goods companies, importers and farmers must certify that they comply with this regulation. Dimitra offers a deforestation certification module, which uses satellite imagery and machine learning to assess compliance and generate blockchain-based certificates.

Source: Dimitra

The Dimitra ecosystem is powered by its proprietary Ethereum-based token, DMTR. It serves as a tool for the Connected Farmer app that helps farmers around the world increase sustainability and make informed decisions.

To spread its mission and technology, Dimitra also works with governments, agencies, NGOs and for-profit organizations. The company was awarded a contract by the OBC Indian Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture to deploy its Connected Farmer app to 1.3 million farms for soil assessment and remediation. Elsewhere, Dimitra collaborated with an organization in the world’s third largest fruit-producing country, the Brazilian Association of Fruit Producers and Exporters. Its members represent more than 85% of the total fruit exported by Brazil.

Dimitra has shown that integrating blockchain with other innovations such as AI, satellites and IoT can revolutionize the agricultural sector. By increasing transparency, traceability and efficiency, these advances offer great opportunities to improve supply chain management, regulatory compliance and land rights management.