Opportunities of Blockchain for Agriculture - Brussels Development Briefing

The Brussels Development Briefing n. 55 on Opportunities of Blockchain for Agriculture was jointly organised by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), the European Commission (DEVCO), the ACP Secretariat, Concord and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Wednesday 15.05.2019, 9:00-13:00 h
ACP Secretariat
451 Avenue Georges Henri, salle C
1200 Brussels 

Business transactions in agriculture have been transformed by the digitisation of the value chain. Barcodes, sensors, mobile data collection devices, RFID and QR codes are examples of technical solutions used to manage supply chains. However, there are still many challenges relating to the traceability of products and transparency in supply chain management, especially the fact that database systems managing transaction records were managed in isolation, not open to all stakeholders in the chain, making transactions difficult to secure. Blockchain is an emerging digital technology which intends to address these gaps.

Blockchain technology offers many benefits, as it can provide a secure, distributed way to perform transactions among different untrusted parties. This is a key element in agriculture and food supply chains, where numerous actors are involved from the raw production to the supermarket shelf. Blockchain applications in agriculture can improve food traceability from farm to table, reduce trade barriers in agrarian supply chains and support land governance.

GIZ is already using blockchain technology in some projects. In Georgia for example, GIZ has been commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), to work with the Georgian Government to reform the legal system. Blockchain is playing an important role as a means for the national public registry to make land register entries available digitally. Integrating the entries into the data record chain verifies their authenticity. Around one million processes have already been registered.

The upcoming Brussels Briefing will provide an overview of the opportunities and challenges in adopting the blockchain technology in agriculture and the agri-food industry across several sectors and will look at best practices and successful applications of the blockchain technology.

Introductory remarks and Speakers:

  • Viwanou Gnassounou, Assistant Secretary-General, ACP Secretariat
  • Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit Rural Development, Food Security, Nutrition, Europeaid, European Commission
  • Andreas Pletziger, Senior Policy Officer, BMZ
  • Isolina Boto, Manager, CTA Brussels Office
  • Mischa Tripoli, Economist, Trade and Markets Division, FAO
  • Chris Addison, Senior Expert, Data4Ag, CTA
  • Louis de Bruin, Blockchain Thought Leader Europe, IBM Global Business Services
  • Alice Namuli Blazevic, Expert Blockchain and AI, KATS, Uganda
  • Pat Roy Mooney, Founder, ETC Group
  • Anthi Tsilimeni-Archangelidi, Business Analyst, EMEA Business Applications, Cargill
  • Theo De Jager, President, World Farmer’s Organisation (WFO)
  • Sander Govers, Moyee Coffee “FairChain”, Ethiopia
  • Annette Houtekamer, Expert in Inclusive Insurance, Ibisa
  • Árokszállási Erik, CEO, TE-FOOD International

View the coverage on Twitter with @BruBriefings

The Briefing will also be webstreamed: https://brusselsbriefings.net