New partnership to use blockchain to boost small farm incomes

A new three-way partnership is set to create a transparent marketplace on the blockchain to help boost small farm incomes, according to a press release shared with Coin Rivet.

Icrisat (the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) is an international organisation which conducts agricultural research for rural development. The firm has partnered with India’s “native blockchain platform” Eleven01 and mobile-based agricultural solutions provider Khethinext with the aim to use “blockchain technology in agriculture to help deliver better productivity and higher incomes to small farmers in India”.

Dr Anthony Whitbread, research program director at Icrisat, stated: “Over the past few years, Icrisat has been working to bring digital technology to farmers in a number of ways. Now, with blockchain protocol, we have a whole new area of opportunity to be harnessed for the benefit of marginal farmers.”

Khethinext, which is part of Icrisat’s innovation hub (ihub), is developing a decentralised application (dApp) that will provide farmers with mobile-based expert advisory services, ground support for logistics, and blockchain-based clarity into financial transactions, supply chain monitoring, and more.

This will reportedly provide smallholder farmers with information regarding farm inputs, produce demand/supply, market rates, and much more, eliminating intermediaries and empowering the farmers with better decision-making abilities.

The intention is that through using the dApp, farmers will have a marketplace that puts them directly in touch with potential retailers and produce organisations.

Mr Phanidhar Palakoti, founder and CEO of Khethinext, said: “This is a major step to provide traceability of agriculture produce on blockchain, making it visible to potential buyers for high price realisation. Our consolidated efforts will help farmers increase profitability and improve livelihoods.”

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