Blockchain technology forms the underlying infrastructure for thousands of digital systems across the world. Anzill Adams, the CEO of DataLedger and BeefLedger South Africa, joins us on this weekend’s podcast to unpack exactly how blockchain is benefitting the South African agricultural sector.
Adams describes blockchain as an online chain of blocks or records of transactions that are linked to each other by cryptography. Cryptography refers to the art of writing or solving codes, and basically technology that encrypts or secures information.
“That means that information on the blockchain is immutable (unchangeable) or tamper-proof, and cannot be altered in any way. The types of transactions recorded in the blockchain can involve financial transactions, the movement of goods or services, or the exchange of information.”
What makes blockchain so special, Adams says, is that it provides complete traceability and transparency. “Basically, multiple stakeholders in an ecosystem like a supply chain, for instance, can now have access to information in real time and, based on consensus mechanisms that are part of the blockchain, can verify and agree on the validity of the data.”
Traceability and transparency
DataLedger, and its sister company BeefLedger, has been doing quite a bit of work within the agricultural sector in South Africa.
Adams says the companies have both local and international projects in the beef and wine industries. They are working with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to employ blockchain in the up-and-coming farmer supply chain, he points out.
“In the wine industry, we have worked with a major wine producer to develop unique digital identities for one of their brands by digitising the certification process. [This] prevents the adulteration [and] counterfeiting [of its wines], and [leads to] the better management of illicit trading of its wines in the local and export markets.”
Adams also explains how blockchain can be used within food security management, specifically to prevent fraud within the halaal certification process.
“We have started work on the digitisation of the halaal supply chain, where we linked halaal certification to full halaal supply chain traceability to prevent the fraudulent copy of halaal certificates. And to provide traceability solutions for Sharia law based funding, for supply chain funding and for investment.”
Because blockchain technology provides traceability and transparency, as well as decentralisation, Adams says it engenders trust within all stakeholders along the supply chain. “Data that can be trusted leads to smart farming.”
ALSO READ – Farm to store: Uganda uses blockchain to trace coffee
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