Grassroots Farming Cooperative Trials Using Blockchain
Arkansas based Grassroots Farming Cooperative trials using blockchain in order to have total transparency in their supply chain. The cooperative is just one of many in the agriculture industry looking to increase transparency in their supply chain.
Agriledger is a mobile app that helps farmers in developing countries improve efficiency and also keep a bigger share of their crop value. Current co-ops are relying on paper based records. This causes a lack of transparency and restricted access to important information creating an unfair playing field. The app is helping farmers record their transactions on the blockchain creating trust between the farmers and the end consumer. Grassroots is also working towards ensuring that their consumers know where their food is coming from. This is where blockchain is gaining a lot of traction in the agriculture industry. Australia's largest grain manufacturer also just announced that they will start blockchain trials.
Why Blockchain is the Future in Agriculture
In a blog on their website Cody Hokpins - Grassroots General Manager explains "If you’re a conscientious eater, you’ve probably noticed that right now just about every meat company is making the same claims—all natural, cage free, hormone free, to name a few. But getting more information—that is, the stories behind the labels—is a real challenge.". This is where blockchain is a superstar in regards to transparency. At each stage of the supply chain farmers are able to log each stage of the farming process. This goes into a public ledger that is unable to be altered (the blockchain). This means that consumers are able to see where their food is coming from.
For Grassroots this means that consumers can track a package of chicken along their supply chain. Whilst learning more about the people who helped craft the final product. They hope that by telling consumers the stories behind their food, and verifying this on blockchain that they will be able to give trust back to the consumers. In order to do this, Grassroots is working with tech company Provenance, a blockchain based platform which is helping value-based brands make their products more transparent.
On a previous post looking at non-financial uses of blockchain we examine how it is being applied Blockchain technology is starting to be utilised by more than just the financial industry. Agriculture is the perfect industry for this technology. It is an exciting time to see where this technology will take us and the effect it will have on the food industry.
