Part 3 : Blockchain in Agriculture & Food supply Chain

A simplified example of the digitization of the food supply chain, supported by blockchain technology

Blockchain Technology in Agriculture & Food Supply Chain

At every stage of the trajectory of food, different technologies are involved and different information is written to the blockchain, as described below for each of these stages:

1. Provider: Information about the crops, pesticide and fertilizers used, machinery involved etc. The transactions with the producer/farmer are recorded.
2. Producer: Information about the farm and the farming practices employed. Additional info about the crop cultivation process, weather conditions, or animals and their welfare is also possible to be added.
3. Processing: Information about the factory and its equipment, the processing methods used, batch numbers etc. The financial transactions that take place with the producers and also with the distributors are recorded too.
4. Distribution: Shipping details, trajectories followed, storage conditions (e.g. temperature, humidity), time in transit at every transport method etc. All transactions 7 between the distributors and also with the final recipients (i.e. retailers) are written on the blockchain.
5. Retailer: Detailed information about each food item, its current quality and quantity, expiration dates, storage conditions and time spent on the shelf are listed on the chain.
6. Consumer: At the final stage, the consumer can use a mobile phone connected to the Internet/Web or a web application in order to scan a QR code associated with some food item, and see in detail all information associated with the product, from the producer and provider till the retail store.

But what’s the benefits of a blockchain enabled food supply chain ?

Read this to know more.

P.S : Don’t miss out previous parts of this blog post, which talks about:

Part 1 : What is Blockchain?

Part 2 : Why Current Food Supply Chain Sucks Big Time