What Is Blockchain Technology In Agriculture?

Blockchain technology is a disruptive new approach to managing data. Blockchain technology can be applied to agriculture in several ways that investors, farmers, and consumers should watch closely.

For example, it could enable farmers to manage their crop surplus more efficiently without the need for costly intermediaries who buy crops at harvest time. It could also make food safer by preventing global contamination and enabling increased food sovereignty for citizens of developing countries by helping them with distribution channels.

In agriculture, blockchain could be used for several functions. It could support new payment methods for farmers to receive payment for their products more efficiently by using smart contract principles.

In the same way that Bitcoin is an anonymous digital currency that anyone can buy and sell, blockchain technology could support a new digital currency that farmers can use to sell their goods in exchange. This would help them receive payment instantly while significantly reducing the cost of remittance abroad.

Applications Of blockchain technology in the agriculture Field:

Agricultural Insurance: Applying blockchain technology to insurance for farmers and ranchers is paramount. Farmers and ranchers are not self-insured in the same way that homeowners are under current insurance policies.

While most have farmer’s coverage, it is typically a narrow policy designed to meet their needs while on their farm. It only covers theft or destruction of property. It does not cover crop loss or injury due to natural disasters such as hail or flooding.

Smart Agriculture: Blockchain technology can manage data exactly as it manages data for Bitcoin. For the technology to be successful, it needs to offer a means of secure, verifiable, and immutable record keeping, which could be used in agriculture.

Farmers who use blockchain to upload their crop information on a network could then use an app or other device to provide this information instantly or securely from anywhere and at any time, with no need to use intermediaries or traditional channels.

It is already being used in seed libraries to track seeds and in food supply chains to track produce. In the future, it could also be used by farmers to provide many of their crop data needs as it happens at planting, harvesting, and storing produce. This would reduce the need for mediators and intermediaries to manage much of the current crop information process.

Food Supply Chain: Blockchain technology could also help the food supply chain. By building trust and a record of origin in the supply chain, blockchain could reduce the need for intermediaries or mediators managing food production to ensure that consumers can be assured of food safety.

Blockchain technology can secure this information in a way that cannot be tampered with and does not require third parties to confirm authenticity and quality. This ensures transparency which is fundamental to ensuring healthier food consumption.

Blockchain tech can also be used to manage business-to-business transactions. It provides an immutable digital ledger where businesses, farmers, and consumers can see where products have been and how they were produced.

Another interesting application is that blockchain technology could support and simplify the process of in situ food aid or humanitarian relief. It could work like an ATM, offering food to anyone with the right access.

E-Commerce of Agricultural Products: Blockchain technology can be used to manage transactions in agriculture with a few simple steps through e-commerce. This would be much more convenient for consumers and farmers than relying on traditional pay-pal or other means.

In this way, farmers and ranchers could receive payment for their products instantly and efficiently. At the same time, consumers would have an extra layer of assurance that the products they are purchasing are authentic and safe.

Agricultural Supply Chain Management and Traceability: Blockchain technology can be used to manage supply chain management, which is especially important in food production and safety. One such application is a distributed ledger system that would allow an immutable record of the origin of goods to be easily available to consumers.

If implemented correctly, this will allow consumers to see the history of the goods they purchase, helping ensure that they were produced under fair conditions.

How Can Blockchain Technology Grow Agriculture Sector?

The agriculture industry has the potential to be one of the most universally disrupted by blockchain technology. It has all the elements that make for a powerful, decentralized force:

Farmers are forced to sell their produce at rock-bottom prices.
An overabundance of intermediaries who are preventing transparency.
A population with rising concerns about food quality and safety.

Blockchain technology could give farmers back control over their products by reducing the need for a third party to oversee or process sales. It could offer them access to a new market without dealing with mediators or intermediaries, ensuring they receive a fair price for their goods and enjoy greater transparency.

It has the power to reduce food waste by allowing farmers, manufacturers, and consumers to rapidly track down any issues that may arise during the shipping and storing of products. It could also save farmers from rip-offs and fraud.

These systems could track the supply chain of any crop or product. They would benefit farmers by providing a means of verifying that they are selling the correct crops or products, particularly if they sell directly to consumers.

Smaller farms that cannot afford to purchase or rent sophisticated equipment such as GPS tracking devices could also benefit greatly from blockchain technology. Even small producers can benefit greatly from storing data on a central ledger.

Conclusion:

Blockchain technology could offer a much-needed solution to many problems today facing agriculture and food production. It is a secure, efficient, and decentralized means of managing data, which has the potential to provide an additional layer of trust and transparency between farmers, manufacturers, and consumers.

Securely managing data helps remove the need for mediators or intermediaries by giving producers direct access to their consumer base. It will also allow faster tracking of products as they are produced, moved, and stored.

Indeed, blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize many industries, and agriculture is a good place to start. It can bring trust back into the industry and steer it away from its reliance on a system that is only sometimes fair or transparent.