INVESTING CHECKOFF DOLLARS
BLOCKCHAIN IN AGRICULTURE DELIVERING VALUE TO FARMERS BY JOSEPH L. MURPHY
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ore and more, blockchain is becoming a buzzword. Years ago, it was associated with the instability of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Today, farmers and agribusinesses are realizing it could be the business tool for the future. According to experts speaking at an educational session at Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida, the biggest obstacle for agriculture’s entry into the blockchain is leaving the pencil and paper behind. “Agriculture is one of the least digitized sectors,” says Mark Pryor, chairman and CEO of The Seam. “That presents a real challenge. We also have data silos that benefit only one company.”
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But Pryor says every once in a while a technology comes along that revolutionizes the system. He believes blockchains are that technology. Simply put, a blockchain is an openly distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. “A blockchain provides the single version of the truth between multiple Luis Macias competing parties in the supply chain,” Pryor says. A blockchain has multiple characteristics. They are rules-based, distributed in real-time, permissioned and can’t be changed. “Participants can interact with each
other with full trust that the agreement will execute on-time, and as agreed upon no matter if you know the person or have ever done business with them,” says Luis Macias, CEO of Grainchain. “They could be located in Africa, China, Morocco or anywhere in the globe.” Before massive adoption can take place, some hurdles have to be overcome. Pryor says that among individuals and companies, the basic terminology of farming could be different. As an example, in the shipping industry one company may call a ship a vessel. Another company may call it a boat or a conveyance and on and on. “We are starting to see ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Dreyfus form a partnership
