Conclusion
Blockchain enabled solutions are a much-needed technology for tackling critical problems existing in the agricultural industries of both emerging and developed economies. Additionally, blockchain provides a bridge within the agricultural infrastructure space to deploy other technologies into the industry. With the service sector overtaking the agricultural sector in 2009, which bids poorly for the industry that forms the bedrock of food security and thus the survival of humankind, timing is ripe for an overhaul of the industry. While multi-layered challenges exist, including product novelty, government regulations, and key assumptions in technology, the results of certain use cases clearly show that blockchain effectively addresses industry problems better than models enabled by alternative technologies or the current brick and mortar processes. Use cases also show that the utilization of blockchain along with other technologies will address critical problems pertaining to the agricultural industry in the future. Emerging economies are bound to benefit most from the utilization of this technology because there is a symbiotic combination of necessities and disruptions within the existing system and models. Lastly, blockchain is not a duct tape solution to every existing problem in the current agricultural industry, but it is a definite catalytic tool that is ready and well-suited to accelerate the industry for economic growth, increased production, and better management output.
References:
  1. Agricultural Lending Version 1.3 by The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
  2. Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment: Methodological Guidance for Practitioners by Vikas Choudhary, Stephen P. D’Alessandro, Åsa Giertz, Kilara Constance Suit, Traci Jeanette Johnson, Tobías Baedeker, and Ricardo Jorge Caballero from The World Bank
  3. Agriculture for Development: New Paradigm & Options for Success by Alain de Janvry
  4. Global Agricultural Performance: Past Trends and Future Prospects by Mette Wik, Prabhu Pingali, and Sumiter Broca at the World Development Report 2008
  5. The Future of Food and Agriculture by FAO