Blockchain in Agriculture Research
PI: Ralph Hall; Co-PI: Jessica Agnew
Funding Agency: LASER (Long-term Assistance and Services for Research) PULSE (Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine) - USAID
Project Budget: $236,849
This research conducted by researchers at Virginia Tech (US) and Egerton University (Kenya) and the Australian tech start-up, AgUnity. It was one of the first projects to investigate how blockchain can support food security outcomes by strengthening the supply chains for African indigenous vegetables. The project took place in Kakamega county located in western Kenya.
The results reveal that the record keeping functionality of the blockchain app has helped value chain actors to better negotiate profitable prices for the products, introduced standardization of weights in transactions, reduced waste and post-harvest loss, created reliable market information, and reduced the occurrence of exploitation, failure to repay credit, and corruption. The AgUnity App also increased cooperative behavior between actors in the value chain, which led to the self-led organization of farmers and improved value chain governance, and created more time, especially for women, to pursue other types of entrepreneurial endeavors.
PIs: Harrison Byrnes (AgUnity), Jessica Agnew (Virginia Tech)
Funding Agency: Direct Aid Program, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Australian Government
Project Budget: $15,000
This project aimed to improve the price received by Katta Muduga Cooperative Union for coffee through the use of digital technology including blockchain. The goal was to use complementary technologies to create Improved connectivity between value chain actors, including consumers, through transparent and direct payments.
Virginia Tech faculty, Jessica Agnew, conducted research on the feasibility of introducing a utility token payment system in the Ethiopian coffee sector to facilitate royalty payments made directly to farmers. Research activities included conducting a market study to understand the economic ecosystem and regulations that would impact the system’s success, evaluate the demand for a utility token payment system by investigating pain points and costs of transactions, gender dynamics, and value chain structure, and interrogate the potential of the utility token payment system.