There are several Blockchain uses in the agricultural sector right now, and more are being created according to recent technological advancements.
FREMONT, CA: Blockchain is simply defined as a ledger of transactions in an electronic medium noted and stored by participants.
The main goal of Blockchain is to increase accountability, transparency and dependability of data stored in the chain system. With technological advancement, Blockchain is an important aspect of modern-day agricultural practices.
Blockchain in farming or agriculture is used to enhance the number of trustworthy information available regarding inventory,
agricultural contracts, and the general status of the farms. Earlier, assembling this sort of information was an expensive endeavor, but Blockchain has the potential to change that shortly.
By continuously tracing the provenance of various commodities, it is now possible to improve the quality of the food supply chain and keep confidence between customers and farmers because of Blockchain in farming or agriculture.
As it is a dependable and trusted means of saving data, it allows the implementation of several data-driven technologies to usher in the era of smart farming. Furthermore, when combined with the notion of smart contracts, it contributes to the smoothness of transactions between many parties by making things more timely.
Applications of Blockchain in Agriculture
There are several Blockchain uses in the agricultural sector right now, and more are being created according to recent technological advancements. To review the key uses of Blockchain in agriculture, it is possible to divide it into four broad categories:
1. Smart farming
The technique of utilizing numerous current technical breakthroughs to increase the efficiency and dependability of the agricultural process is called smart farming or smart agriculture.
It includes elements such as ICT, the internet of things (IoT), different sensors, machine learning technologies, and a plethora of data analysis and assemblage equipment like unmanned aerial vehicles.
Blockchain's decentralization is by far its finest strength in smart agriculture. This practicality also facilitates data delivery to the screens of many stakeholders while preventing data loss and distortion. Furthermore, to ensure transparency, all transactions in a blockchain are time stamped.
2. Food Supply Chain
Because of the sheer pressures of globalization, the agricultural food supply chain has to turn longer and more intensive than ever before.
There are many challenges in the present food supply chain, including concerns about food safety, quality, traceability, trust, and supply chain inefficiencies. This burdens the economy and society and jeopardizes customers' health.
Blockchain technology helps resolve many challenges by establishing trust between producers and customers. In addition, offering specific product data within the Blockchain can substantially enhance transparency in this process.
This has extensive repercussions for companies and farmers alike. It allows businesses to increase the value of their goods and, consequently, their market competitiveness.
It would also make it highly improbable that providers of low-quality or fraudulent items would be able to stay in the economy for very long if their methods were maintained.
3. Agricultural Insurance
Climate change has rendered the whole agricultural process growingly uncertain in recent decades. Weather extremes influence the quality of both crops and cattle. As a result, most farmers regard agricultural insurance plans as a good way to deal with the volatility of farming.
Farmers pay a modest
insurance expense at the start of each cropping cycle and are entitled to a payment if their farms suffer losses due to weather irregularities. This provides farmers with breathing room while dealing with the uncertainty created by weather variations.
Farmers can pick from insurance policies that differ in how losses are calculated and payouts are made. For example, indemnity-based insurance is a common form of agricultural insurance that compensates farmers based on an expert who attends to the farm to examine the damage.
4. Transactions of Agricultural Products
With blockchain technology, the acquisition and selling of agricultural products on ecommerce sites may be substantially accelerated. It advantages this portion in two ways:
- Information safety
- Management of the supply chain
Regarding information security, Blockchain provides the critical characteristic of private key encryption, which improves the legitimacy of the authentication process. This can help safely and securely apply all data acquired throughout the planting and harvesting stages.
As to supply chain management, Blockchain aids in increasing overall efficiency by lowering signaling costs for all parties involved.