Blockchain and Agriculture: Singapore-Based Firm Traces Apples via Blockchain

TL;DR

A Singapore-based company decided to employ blockchain technology for tracking apple shipments.
If successful, the project will include many different kinds of fruits and vegetables and will represent a new prominent use case for this technology.
Numerous similar projects recently emerged, such as Sentinel Chain that aims to provide banking services to farmers in developing countries.

The use of blockchain technology for tracking international shipments has already become a recognized use case. Now, a fruit and vegetable distributor from Singapore has announced a similar concept. However, their plan is to use blockchain technology to track apples.

Tracking apple shipments via blockchain

While searching for a way to provide suppliers and consumers with the ability to monitor and verify the origins of fruits and vegetables, a company called SunMoon Food decided to employ the blockchain. As a test, SunMoon announced that it will track Chinese Fuji apples across the supply chain and that this is only the beginning.

sunmoon_apples-min — SunMoon Apples. Source: Fruitnet.com

The process is straightforward — each apple will have a sticker with its unique QR code. Customers can use their smartphones for scanning the code, which will instantly provide them with product information. This will include things such as origin, quality, and similar data. All of this information will be recorded on the blockchain, which will ensure that the data remains true and resilient to tampering. The same process will be used for entire cartons of apples, and SunMoon will capture real-time data of supplies, orders, and deliveries.

SunMoon additionally stated that their blockchain-based platform would start offering new financing opportunities, as well as shortening the supply chain cycle from 60-90 days to only 24 hours. According to the company’s managing director, Roger Chua, increased transparency will reduce intra-communication and inter-communication costs. Also, possible disputes will be reduced to a minimum.

All parties involved, including packers and receivers, will be able to check the condition of the shipment and product itself at all times. All that they will need is a smartphone, with no complex processes, paperwork, or other complications behind the activity. After the company tests out the system and its possibilities with Fuji apples, they plan to expand this method and include tracing frozen durians, avocados, citrus fruits, and more.

The use of blockchain in agriculture is growing

This move represents quite an enthusiastic new use case for blockchain technology, and it is only one of many examples of such ideas. For example, another project that aims to use blockchain technology for improving agriculture is called Sentinel Chain.

Sentinel Chain describes itself as a B2B marketplace that was designed for providing safe and affordable financial services to the unbanked. Simply put, the project is targeting livestock farmers in developing areas of the world. It will allow these farmers to get various financial services which they can benefit from while using their livestock as collateral.

The offer will include a wide selection of services, such as loans, savings, insurance, and more. This is quite a unique and original business proposition which has the potential to solve one huge real-world problem. Even so, there are some that believe that the project is too idealistic and that things will not go as smooth in practice as they do on paper. However, if successful, this may prove to be a solution for issues of developing countries and their citizens.

Most experts agree that Sentinel Chain is a good and positive project, although it may still require a lot of work before it achieves its goal.

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