Do you want to know where the tomatoes you buy in the supermarket come from?
From who grew them, where, if they were sprayed with pesticides, the whole process until they reach your table. Well, this is a reality thanks to the implementation of blockchain in agriculture, transparency in this sector already exists and even in other sectors as well, such as electoral processes, financial system, in the titles...
What is blockchain in agriculture?
The blockchain in agriculture is like a digital ledger that can never be altered or falsified. Everything that happens in any product, from the time it starts to be grown until it reaches your plate, all this information is going to be stored in the blockchain in blocks connected to each other.
The agroblockchain technology works like a complete medical record of your food. All this optimization will improve food safety and maximize process efficiency in terms of agricultural production, giving more confidence to the end customer, the consumer.
Key benefits of the agricultural blockchain:
- Full traceability: From seed to plate
- Elimination of fraud: Information that cannot be manipulated
- Increased consumer confidence: Full transparency at source
- Reduced costs: Automated and more efficient processes
Blockchain applications in organic certification
Do you want to know if that product you buy is really organic, really natural? With the blockchain you will find out.
Organic certification with blockchain works like a digital seal that is impossible to forge. Every step of the organic process is permanently recorded:
Revolutionary advantages for organic products:
- Total elimination of fraud: Immutable records are impossible to alter the information on the products.
- Improved traceability: Have access to every process the product has gone through in production and distribution.
- More efficient audits: Instant access to all records, simplifying audits and reducing human error.
- Increased consumer confidence: Total transparency from the origin of the product, strengthening consumer confidence, as the information is immutable.
- Significant cost reduction: Automation of certification processes reduces associated costs.
How to use blockchain in agriculture?
Implementing the technology in the ag sector is simple, allowing full control from seed selection to purchase at the store.
Steps to implement agroblockchain:
- Data logging: IoT sensors capture information in real time.
- Secure storage: Data is stored in immutable blocks.
- Automatic verification: Smart contracts validate processes.
- Transparent access: QR codes allow information to be queried.
Thanks to the technology, small companies could compete with large ones, because the blockchain is adaptable to any size, sensors, real-time detection and food tracking ensuring quality, this is especially interesting for large supermarket chains when it comes to improving production processes.
Blockchain success stories in organic certification
Leading companies in this sector are already starting to implement the technology.
Carrefour and IBM Food Trust
Carrefour implemented blockchain to track organic products using the IBM Food Trust platform. The customer scans a QR code on any product to get the entire production and distribution process. Through this we know the entire journey of the product.
Alcampo and TE-FOOD
Alcampo uses TE-FOOD to improve the traceability of organic fresh produce. This ensures that customers have access to information on the entire production and distribution process of the products.
Bodegas Emilio Moro and Cubic Fort
This renowned Spanish winery collaborated with Cubic Fort to implement blockchain in the traceability of organic wines. The consumer scans the QR code to have access to all the information of each wine about vineyard and winemaking.
Globally, companies such as Walmart (USA), Provenance (UK) and BeefLedger (Australia) are adopting these technologies to increase consumer confidence and certify the authenticity of their products.
What are the disadvantages of blockchain in agriculture?
The agroblockchain has great potential but that does not mean it does not have some disadvantages, the main and most important would be high energy costs, although this varies and is less relevant in new “green” blockchains such as FLOW or ALGORAND.
Current challenges of the agricultural blockchain:
- Energy costs: this happens in traditional blockchains.
- Learning curve: Need for technical training.
- Initial investment: Implementation of sensors and systems.
- Rural connectivity: Internet limitations in agricultural areas.
It should be noted that this series of obstacles are already beginning to be overcome by the development of more efficient and accessible technologies for any company and sector.
Game-changing agro blockchain use cases
1. Revolutionary product traceability
Imagine going to a supermarket and scanning a QR code of any product and having access to detailed product information that tells you if it has pesticides or not, harvest date, all the distribution it has had and also the results of laboratory tests.
2. Certifications and denominations of origin
Each product will get an identifier that verifies the specific area of origin, allowing consumers to know the precise origin and producers to demonstrate authenticity.
3. Tokenization of agricultural assets
Tokenization converts tangible values into unique digital assets. Global platforms tokenize livestock, commodities such as soybeans, corn and wheat, pregnant cows and bags of sugar. Tokens can be used as collateral for loans, exchanged for inputs, or streamline transactions.
4. Decentralized smart payments
Smart contracts have many advantages, also increasing security, making it even more immutable. Unique pricing and automatic payments linked to what you put into the smart contract. Farmers receive payments in real time without the need for intermediaries. Smart contracts automate many processes.
Global implementation of agroblockchain
Where blockchain has been most important has been in the agricultural sector and Latin America has experience with it.
Examples by country:
Mexico: implementation to track grains such as corn, sorghum and soybeans. The Inter-American Development Bank finances platforms that offer loans to farmers in Chiapas using blockchain.
Spain: Hispatec develops solutions for more than 400 clients, offering tools for "Smart Agro". Mercatrace provides traceability from origin to final consumer.
Brazil: Solutions that help farmers access suppliers and store transactional information. Blockchain and artificial intelligence optimize resources such as water and increase operational efficiency.
Argentina: SENASA improves citrus fruit export control through the Citrus Traceability Information System with blockchain, strengthening document security and transparency.
The agroblockchain is not just a technology fad, it is the inevitable future of agriculture. As the technology becomes more refined and accessible, its adoption in the agri-food industry continues to grow exponentially. This digital revolution is democratizing agriculture, allowing small producers to compete on a level playing field with large corporations, while consumers get the transparency they demand in an era of growing food awareness.