Blockchain could be the key to solving one of the most critical issues of this planet: the food crisis. This issue is getting worse year by year, prompted by population growth, the climate changes and geopolitical unrest. Chain Business Insights, an independent research company, believes that smallholder farms are the solution to this ongoing crisis.
Using New Technologies to Solve Age Old Problems
Blockchain could be the key to solving one of the most critical issues of this planet: the food crisis.
The name of the ebook is “Blockchain in Smallholder Farming: Sowing the Seeds of Growth”. It presents ways in which agricultural technologies and blockchain can empower smallholder farm owners to join the food supply chain.
The author, Ken Cottrill, is aware of the age-old problem faced by smallholder farms. Those are lack of access to financial and insurance services, as well as corruption in the supply chain.
Both these issues lead to small farmers’ inability to have a say and play a role in global food production.
Blockchain Can Become a Transformation Factor in the Global Food Production
Researcher Ken Cottrill describes the role of the technology behind Bitcoin in empowering smallholder farms. He writes:
Blockchain could help to improve trust and transparency in the supply chain and give smallholder farmer access to critical market data. In addition, it could enable them to grow crops that are in high demand, such as organic and gluten-free foods, and improve the environmental sustainability of their operations.
The author believes that blockchain can create new business models, capable of supporting smallholder farms. The farms can succeed in becoming a valuable source of food and play a role in overcoming the negative impacts of climate change.
First Seeds Are Already Sown
Ken Cottrill’s book does not present only theoretical ideas, but also several practical examples. These examples focus on blockchain-based agricultural projects that are coming to fruition. For instance, the ebook presents case studies of cocoa bean growing in New Guinea and Indonesia or cotton growing in Haiti.
The author also suggests potential use cases for blockchain in countries such as Kenya (wheat and coffee) and Vietnam (rice). In addition, he describes the profile of companies already testing the concept in related industries, such as microfinance. Some results of these endeavours will be visible next year, according to the ebook.
Shedding Light on the Future of Blockchain for Stakeholders
“Blockchain in Smallholder Farming: Sowing the Seeds of Growth” does not try to promote blockchain for its own sake. It is a signal for the leading stakeholders in the food production and supply chain industries to pay attention to a long ignored resource. Separate smallholder farms cannot compete with industrial farming enterprises. However, organised in larger units, they could solve the problem of world hunger.
Blockchain could help to improve trust and transparency in the supply chain and give smallholder farmer access to critical market data.
The key problem is fair access to financing and distribution markets. Farms also need to coordinate their work on the types of crops they produce. In this way, they can create a sustainable food production ecosystem.
According to Ken Cottrill, blockchain is the solution to this problem: Blockchain’s potential in this sector could blossom when it is combined with other technologies, such as mobile networks, IoT sensing and advanced analytics.
The ebook is available on the Chain Business Insights website, as well as on Amazon, Nook, Kobo and Apple iBooks.