OVERVIEW 

​Chain Business Insights’ new eBook by Co-founder and Research Principal, Ken Cottrill titled Blockchain in Smallholder Farming: Sowing the Seeds of Growth investigates how blockchain combined with agricultural technologies, such as precision farming could help improve productivity significantly, lift millions of smallholder farmers out of poverty and bolster the world’s food supply.

Population growth, climate change and geopolitical unrest are putting pressure on food production – a significant amount of which comes from small farms, especially in developing countries. At the same time, smallholder farmers are challenged by rampant corruption in the supply chain, and do not have access to adequate finance and insurance and hence the resources needed to improve yields. Blockchain could support new business models that help smallholders to overcome these barriers, adapt to changing climate and the resultant shift in production patterns, improve efficiency and gain access to world agricultural markets.

Driven by the substantial global business opportunity, several vendors are introducing blockchain-based innovations in smallholder farming. Blockchain in Smallholder Farming: Sowing the Seeds of Growth contains case studies about the use of the technology.

Blockchain in Smallholder Farming: Sowing the Seeds of Growth offers a snapshot of blockchain’s potential, and the broader implications for global agribusiness. These insights should be of interest to stakeholders across agricultural supply chains. Among them are farm organizations, food manufacturers and retailers, providers of services and farm inputs (substances for controlling crop pests and fertilizing soil), transportation and logistics companies, government agencies and NGOs.​