Use Cases and Projects in Blockchain
Blockchain is being tested and implemented in several projects, many of
which use IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric, a permissioned ledger that is
securely maintained by the interested parties.
13
While using such a system does not provide ultimate transparency, it
does provide much more than the current system.
- Walmart:
used blockchain to track mangoes and to test several other food items.
Additionally, Walmart is working with IBM and Tsinghua University
on a
project to track Chinese pork14
- Dreyfus:
used a blockchain platform to close a large soybean deal with a
Chinese supplier, cutting down transaction time dramatically15
- Coca-Cola:
building blockchain platforms to help ensure ethical sugar
production16
- Unilever:
working with Provenance to track tea in Malawi17
- Carrefour:
working on a blockchain system to help trace product origin18
- Dole,
Driscoll’s, Kroger, Tyson, Nestle, Golden State Foods, McCormick and
Company, and McLane Company: working with IBM to build blockchain
tracking solutions19
Ibisa: IBISA is a Luxembourg
based company providing an innovative product for inclusive finance in
the agricultural industry using blockchain technology and Earth
Observation. In its early stages, IBISA is positioned to tackle emerging
markets and create sustainable investment opportunities in those
markets. Their product provides the following solutions:
- Risk-Sharing Service: This acts as a mutual alternative to
micro-insurance, targeting small farmers worldwide.
- Peer-to-Peer Architecture: This reduces the cost incurred by
insurer-centric paradigms.
- Risk Materialization: This leads to effective and attractive
compensation for farmers contributing to the scheme through regular
micropayments.
IBISA is tackling farmers’ requirements in emerging countries in the
following manner:
- Protection- Protects crop farmers from weather-related calamities.
Thus providing a solution to a permanent need which is more acute with
climate changes.
- Affordability- Affordable even for farmers with low revenues. Annual
contributions of farmers have to be less than 6% of the sum incurred.
- Loading- Present fair value for money. Current studies have shown that
farmers accept loading factors up to 30% above this threshold and
thus stop renewing insurance contracts.
- Ease-of-Use- Easy to use and easy to adopt; thus taking into account
that a portion of small scale farmers in emerging economies is
illiterate.
- Pay-Out- Perform frequent and partial payouts without having to file
claims. The current status is the slowness of payout and assessing
claims.
- Contribution- Allows farmers to make contributions in a flexible
manner. This accounts for the lack of cash at the beginning of the
season; a critical barrier in the current scenario.
IBISA has developed an interesting business model that leverages
farmers, institutions, and infrastructure solution providers. It is
enabling solutions in the following problems existing in emerging
economies’ agricultural industries:
- Agricultural Sustainability- This is through direct models that tackle
weather-centric farming models
- Agricultural Finance: Providing alternative solutions to farmer
lending services
- Agricultural Trade: Providing a marketplace for farmers and
agriculture-centric institutions
- Agricultural Security: Providing the ability to manage or acquire new
farming lands
IBISA leverages blockchain technology in the following categories:
- Decentralized Network and Infrastructure
- Identity
- Trust and Transparency
- Smart Contract
- Security
The key elements of IBISA are as follows:
- The members are farmers, beneficiaries of global mutual risk sharing
products.
- The enablers are the link with the farmers’ “last mile” that
on-boards them as members into IBISA.
- The watchers are the trackers of the index and assessors of the
losses, using space assets and other sources of data.
- The profilers are the creators of the risk profiles.
- The developers are the creators of the IBISA infrastructure and its
evolution.
- The risk contribution is defined based on the area within which the
farmers live.
- Farmers use mobile money to make contributions and receive payouts.
- Farmers pay what they can when they can, and they are responsible for
their “merit,” which guides how much they are paid in case of loss.
- Loss assessment is done remotely every month, thus eliminating the
need to file claims and follow up.
- Partial payments are done whenever a partial loss is detected.
AgriLedger: a project primarily
focused on providing regional and international markets and capital
access to small farmers, who supply 80% of the food consumed in
developing countries. The system primarily runs off of simple smartphone
apps and has run pilot co-op projects in Haiti, Papua New Guinea,
Myanmar, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, and other countries. All results have
been positive so far, with income as much as tripling in some cases.
AgriLedger provides the following services:
- Digital Identity: providing official identification, without which a
person can struggle to access financial services, social benefits,
healthcare, education, political and legal rights, gender equality,
and migration
- Information: Most farmers are operating at just 40% of their
potential capacity. With access to information, farmers can now plan
and harvest more effectively and gain access to the market.
- Immutable Data: DLT (Digital Ledger Technology) solution provides
immutable information, trust, and transparency through the supply
chain.
- Traceability: Lack of traceability means tracking and recalling
specific contaminated products throughout the supply chain. With the
DLT solution, each item can be traced from seed to consumer.
- Financial Service: Without financial access, many agricultural
providers lose up to 50% of their potential income. Farmers can prove
their identity and income to gain access to financial institutions.
- Record Keeping: Farmers can use their digital ledger for better record
keeping and proof of income.
Ripe: a company working to improve
the visibility of food supply chains. Ripe is altering the trajectory of
the food system through blockchain technology and the IoT by providing
the following services:
- Farmers: will be able to leverage IoT and sensors to automate
processes and efficiently meet market demand for high quality,
sustainable products
- Distributors: will be able to transparently track food products to
provide real-time data on food safety and delivery
- Consumers: will receive trusted, certified information on the journey
of their food, creating a new standard of food quality
AgriDigital: a commodity
management platform targeted toward the grain industry. AgriDigital is
an end-to-end solution providing farmers and consumers with simple and
easy processes to manage contracts, deliveries, inventory, orders,
invoices, and payments all in one place, and in real time, through the
following services:
- Farmers: one platform for contracts, deliveries, and payments. Receive
instant delivery and payment notifications
- Storage Operators: from receivable to outturn, all operations on one
platform. Communication and dealing with customers
- Traders: easy to use commodity management providing reduction of risk,
time, and money
EthicHub: a platform providing
crowdfunding and microloans for small format farms, as well as
leveraging blockchain to connect investors (lenders) to small unbanked
agricultural producers (borrowers) globally. EthicHub provides the
following services:
- Investors: are able to choose between highly profitable projects in
developing countries. The platform provides access to better reward
vs. risk investment opportunities, which are usually found in those
countries.
- Small and Unbanked Producers: can benefit from lower interest rates
due to greater financing supply and take advantage of stored credit
history on the blockchain. More liquidity allows them to improve
productivity and have a higher profit from labor, resulting in a
better quality of life.
Lokaal: a company that
designed a crypto-currency, the LOKA, to support local farms,
food-makers, and small businesses by providing microloans and
payments.
People who are interested in accessing the market can purchase LOKA on
Lokaal’s site and use it in their curated marketplace, or donate it
either through Lokaal support fund or directly to specific farms or food
makers listed on their funding pages.
20 Key features of this product are
its simplicity and ease of access between end consumers and producers:
Farmers: Farms and food vendors get paid instantly for any sale made in
their network. Lokaal manages the collections risk with buyers, thus
providing cash proceeds based on sales history with flexible repayment
options. Conversion to Fiat is very easy, as the exchange rate is
recorded during the time of sale to provide stability in exchange rate
volatility.
End Consumers (Investors/Purchaser): have the option to choose between
products they want for their individual purposes (such as retail
agricultural products) and can fund projects they believe in, such as
organic berry farms, which in turn reduces the retail cost of organic
products as they fund the farmers directly. Lastly, they are able to
store value and gain in the crypto-currency that is utilized in the
platform for lending purposes.