Blockchain and Agricultural Industry: How does it help the economy?

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Blockchain and Agricultural Industry

Last Updated on February 13, 2024

For over a decade, farmers have been told that a network strategy will bring tremendous efficiency to their farms. Quality confirmation, nutrient management plans, environmental farm proposals, big data, accuracy ag — they’ll all help boost efficiency and even enhance profitability. In the past few years, a new phrase has erupted into the business world: blockchain technology. Check out bitcoin vs. ethereum to know more! In this blog, you will know Blockchain and Agricultural Industry: How does it help the economy?.

The phrase has become almost difficult to avoid, and the number of articles, news reports, and advertisements that pertain to this global movement can be severe. Most people became aware of blockchain through another manifestation that swept into the community consciousness a couple of years ago, and not constantly in a good way, which are Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. But its relevance in the food value chain makes blockchain persuasive for those in the agricultural area.

What is a blockchain? 

Blockchain has lived as a buzzword since the beginning of bitcoin, but when it comes to embedding this technology in investments, cryptocurrency is not what businesses are looking for. It is the blockchain network itself that matters. This creation is currently transforming several companies, including agriculture.

Blockchain and Agricultural Industry: 

Agriculture has constantly played a vital role in the growth of life and wellbeing across the planet. But it is in dire desire of innovations that would enhance and facilitate the work of farmers and assist their customers in understanding their food better. 

One technology is prepared to offer modern work methods and interchange between producers and consumers and solve many industry difficulties — and that is the already well-known blockchain. 

Agricultural tendencies directly pertain to what is happening to the world’s community, namely continual population development, urbanization, and globalization. As of January 2021, 7.8 billion people live in the world. The World Bank states that the number will grow again, reaching 9.7 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. You don’t need to be a professional to comprehend that with such amounts of people, the demand for food will also boost considerably.

Since this sector is crucial to global abundance and must adapt to many challenges over time, blockchain followers have begun to inaugurate this technology into agriculture. But is it a giant leap forward?

Benefits to the economic development:

While blockchain technology has gained popularity, mainly due to its raid of the financial sector, even its essential traits and capacities can significantly alter other industries, including agriculture.

Clarity and trust

Most businesses are conditioned to trusting authority or pursuing services from third parties. Blockchain is altering these habits: peer-to-peer architecture, cryptography, and necessary confirmation of identity and transactions now assure trust amongst participants in the network. Customers also believe retailers and farmers more when they understand where their food came from, how it was distributed, and how it got to a provided supermarket. They can obtain all this data through blockchain-based requests.

No Intermediaries 

By manipulating blockchain, the desire for a large number of intermediaries is considerably reduced. Banks, notaries, and many third-party sites are no longer crucial so that you can conserve money. 

Once on the blockchain, always on the blockchain

Every piece of data added to the blockchain is immutable and time-stamped. Considering that multiple network parties validate it, you can always be confident that the data is valid.

All Fraud and malfunction detected

Blockchain doesn’t entirely exclude the likelihood of fraud, but it can assist in lessening risks seriously. Since all phases of the supply chain can be tracked through the blockchain and the data is immutable, such an application becomes very tough to utilize.

Enhancing food integrity and safety

The agri-food system is incredibly vast and complex. It needs to be facilitated and expanded not only for farmers, suppliers, and retailers but also for the end consumer, as their health heavily banks on what commodities they buy.

Conclusion

Using blockchain-based platforms, supply chain parties can report emerging problems in real-time. If a foodborne infection outbreak still occurs, retailers can deduce where the contaminated food came from in a matter of seconds. This helps to enforce fast food recalls and thereby protect the health and even the existence of buyers.