Blockchain Technology for Agriculture: Applications and Rationale

Overview

Industry Overview

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  Agricultural Insurance

  Agricultural insurances differ with respect to how losses are assessed and consequently how payouts are triggered. Insurances that indemnify farmers based on a damage assessment that was made by an expert on the farm are denoted as indemnity-based insurances. Indemnity based insurances are able to precisely cover losses, however, they are prone to problems arising from asymmetric information problems.

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  Smart Agriculture

  Smart agriculture is featured by the utilization of ICT, internet of things (IoT), and various modern data collection and analysis technologies including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), sensors and machine learning. A key issue of establishing smart agriculture is developing a comprehensive security system that facilitates the use and management of data. Traditional ways manage data in a centralized fashion and are prone to inaccurate data, data distortion and misuse as well as cyber-attack.

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  Food Supply Chain

  With increased globalization and intense competition in the market, food supply chains have become longer and more complex than ever before. There are some common problems in food supply chains such as food traceability, food safety and quality, food trust and supply chain inefficiency, which add additional risks on the entire society, economy and the health of human.