In comparison to global financial systems, blockchain in agriculture is still considered new and immature. But apart from the age issue, the advanced features that the blockchain has to offer can eliminate the need for all current solutions in all aspects of our daily lives.
The blockchain can interrupt the agriculture sector that represents 6.4 percent economic production of the world, employing 40 percent of the world’s total workforce, and producing around $5 trillion dollars. In the present age, farmers are using complex ecosystems with financial structures that are seasonal and need careful timing and many moving parts.
Have you ever wondered about the journey of our food that it takes after leaving the farm, as it passes through several hands and many different processes to finally arrive at our dinner tables? Have you ever questioned the quality assurance processes?
Here’s the good news, blockchain can help you to track information and executing contracts with transparency. Blockchain agriculture is considered as the most compelling use case that simplifies the process of growth and food supply. A single source of truth can be provided by the agriculture supply chain to all parties involved.
What is Blockchain Technology
In simple, a blockchain includes a linked chain that is responsible for storing auditable data in blocks (also known as units). According to many people, a blockchain is very much similar to a document spreadsheet of Google which accepts the contribution of multiple authors due to the locking mechanism.
Blockchain is also called ‘Internet of value’ which means a safer way of storing and transacting value from one system/organization to another. It includes stocks, votes, contracts, and currencies. It is regarded as the fundamental technology that powers cryptocurrencies as Ethereum and Bitcoin.
This digital account book is monitored and administered by a P2P (peer-to-peer) network. It observes, records, and encrypts each and every economic transaction, be it money or anything that holds a value. Every transaction forms a block and these blocks make chains. One cannot modify one block without altering other blocks of the chain and it needs the approval of all monitoring systems involved.
A food blockchain-based system has the same principle, it is just that the cash transactions will be replaced by pieces of the value chain that are uploaded to the blockchain throughout the entire process, from farm to fork.
Blockchain is being embraced globally as it addresses the most challenging and complex aspects of the food system and provides a real alternative. Blockchain has the ability to transform the dilemmas faced by all of us i.e. accountability and transparency, monitoring good practices, processing integrity, origin, access of market for small producers and countries that are underdeveloped, and maintaining labor standards globally.
Tracking food from the beginning cultivation stages to the end consumer outlets can help us to know who was involved in the handling of our food, what treatment did it have, maintenance of products, and about the real value.
Here are some key aspects that can make food traceability possible and easier and will help you to understand how the agriculture industry can be transformed through the adoption of blockchain technology.
Revolution
Technological advancement has increased the requirement and demand of customers as they need proper transparency with products that they use with just a few swipes of their fingers. Blockchain made this possible and very much easier. When it comes to farm-to-fork, blockchain is no less than a blessing.
The major issue is complexity. It is a fact that a product must have gone through a maximum of eight stages before it arrives on the shelves. All those stages are segments of supply chain management that simplifies many things. From this process, people are enabled to track down a specific product’s making with end-to-end traceability. It provides huge help in terms of sampling.
This process often results in a damaged reputation. However, it is the best possible way to understand the benefits offered by the blockchain industry in terms of increased reliability of the information in order to ensure the revolution in the agriculture industry.
Verified and Completed
Blockchain is basically an industry that allows for recording of all our transactions and confirming them. They can be call records that work well when multiple parties are involved. Keeping a similar thing in the case of the food industry can enable us to trace back to failures if there are any. Origins can be identified in order to help us maintain track in a proper way.
This is indeed a good step for revolutionizing the food industry through blockchain technology. This can also allow organizations to trace products and eradicate all sorts of duplications. It helps maximize efficiency.
Blockchain technology is able to monitor the food industry’s supply chain management. The biggest benefit is that it is open source and allows others to add their views. For protecting sensitive data regarding smart contracts or commercial platforms, cryptography is also used. This maximizes the security in governing of transactions.
Need for Agreement
The blockchain industry has so many benefits to offer and it is extremely fascinating. These benefits include data immutability, use of smart contracts and permissions, and consensus requirements. It is the right solution for the challenges faced in farm-to-fork traceability.
The most important thing about blockchain technology is that you will find zero threats when it comes to data security. Plus, the stored information is reliable and happens in real-time which makes traceability a much easier task. There is no need to add any external or third party platform to achieve the best outcome. This makes blockchain efficient, quicker, and cheaper in comparison to other technologies.
The blockchain technology has become the agriculture industry’s vital part. Specifically, when we talk about the supply chain, blockchain is becoming the ultimate solution. It is giving the food industry a competitive edge. Today, companies are constantly struggling to become the one who provides more tractability in terms of products’ quality.
In the production animal industry, animal traceability is very important for vertically integrated farms. They look for multi-platform cattle management software to track cattle growth and manage activities associated with their care throughout the beef production cycle including ranch & pasture operations, grow yards, feedlots, and packing plants.
