Blockchain creates a transparent, secure digital space that is essential for organizing joint efforts to protect the environment. Technologies such as AI, IoT and DLT are the only way to overcome the food and climate crisis.
According to the UN, by 2050 there will be
9.7 billion people living on Earth, and to meet the demand for food, it is necessary to increase the volume of agricultural production by 60-70% by this time. Now farmers around the world are under pressure from climate change. With lower consumption of natural resources, farmers are forced to increase production.
New tools are required to improve efficiency and overcome the crisis. Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence technologies are transforming farms around the world, improving production efficiency and quality. Blockchain is also included in the list of technologies that increase the efficiency of agriculture. Besides, blockchain in agriculture has great potential to combat climate change. Against the backdrop of global population growth, cities are growing rapidly, but the amount of land suitable for agriculture is falling.
Digital tools have become common assistants in agriculture. Artificial intelligence technologies and the Internet of Things solve a wide pool of challenges in agriculture: through competent data management, it is possible to reduce costs and increase productivity, increase the quality of products without harming the natural ecosystem, soil, and water resources, and reduce the risks of unforeseen situations.
IoT can be used for automatic tracking in a wide variety of fields of agriculture and livestock, turning the industry into sustainable and transparent system. IoT and AI nets control shoots, fertilizer and feed consumption, humidity levels in the premises, state, and crop forecasts, and monitor agricultural machinery. Sensors installed in farm premises record production metrics and data on feed consumption and climate, including temperature, humidity, pressure. Information is transmitted every hour to the cloud, where AI processes it, analyzes it, and visualizes it. The cloud solution provides access to comparative reports of climate data, revealing water consumption,
CO2 emissions, soil usage data. Artificial intelligence predicts dynamics, improves harvest in time, regulates watering, control fattening, and reduces overhead costs.
To operate data securely and increase transparency and trust in the flow of information, agriculture requires the distributed ledger technology. The FAO has published several
documents showing steps to realize the potential of blockchain in agriculture in the context of climate change.
Blockchain is considered an activator in real-time reporting and verification models. It requires the development of next-generation protocols and standards for sustainability monitoring.
The blockchain-based analytics platform improves profitability and product quality while reducing environmental damage. Blockchain-based services provide a transparent comparative analysis of key metrics, data on deviations, and forecasting, and allow farmers to control the optimal conditions for growing animals and plants, effectively manage resources, and ensure return on investment.
The use of digital tools requires intensive preparatory work, including reengineering business processes, changes in corporate culture, installation of additional equipment, integration of new tools into the current IT farm landscape. It is necessary to consider production features and volumes, labor-intensive processes, specifics of equipment and technologies used. The industry-specific manual management should be minimized.
Blockchain technology will help to make it transparent and combine efforts to preserve the environment.
Blockchain for Climate Foundation plans to move all the Paris Agreement to the blockchain. Also, the Foundation plans to create a global platform for national carbon accounts using blockchain technology, thereby increasing transparency in monitoring national environmental protection efforts.
The ongoing
Covid-19 pandemic has created both challenges and opportunities for blockchain application and digital transformation in agriculture and its value chain. Measures to control virus outbreaks are disrupting global food supply chains. Border restrictions and prohibitions slow down harvests, destroy livelihoods, and prevent food from receiving transport.
Data-based solutions are widely used in various international programs, such as
Response and Recovery Programme, and
the World Economic Forum Toolkit. These programs and tools can encourage further development and implementation of blockchain applications in agriculture. Automation of production and supply chain data flows and blockchainization of agriculture should save the industry from crisis now and contribute to the survival and prosperity of humanity in the future.
