BLOCKCHAIN IN INDIA

Recognising the potential gains of Blockchain technology, The International Crops

Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Eleven01 (India’s indigenous
blockchain platform) and KHETHINEXT (e-agricultural service provider) have
collaborated to employ blockchain technology to increase productivity and income of
small-scale farmers in India.

Research program director (Innovations system Drylands) of ICRISAT, Anthony

Whitbread, stated that, “Over the past few years, ICRISAT has been working to bring
digital technology to farmers in number of ways. Now, with Blockchain protocol we have
new area of opportunity to be harnessed for the benefit of marginal farmers”.

Andhra Pradesh government has collaborated with ChromaWay (a Swedish

company) for development of a blockchain-based platform through which record
keeping of land registration can be conducted. This will enable farmers to directly
contact with the government thereby, saving them from frauds.

Other Indian states will follow on Andhra Pradesh footsteps if this pilot project is
successful.
Breaking down blockchain technology

Blockchain technology is built on distributed ledger technology (DLT), which allows data
entered into the system to be fanned out amongst all users.

Reference : https://www.orfonline.org/research/blockchain-technology-agricultures-
next-revolution-55488/

Similarly, a government-funded think tank proposed a blockchain initiative called

IndiaChain.
A Cloud based Ecosystem is created in which Blockchain & IOT are combined which is then
integrated with the ENAM application and state wise data in this platform.

Blockchain working: (Creates transparency in the supply chain by removing the middle man)

 Using Blockchain in the paddy supply chain to make the system transparent
 Starting from the first step starts from formers where the raw material of rice is tagged after
harvesting.
 Next step the this tagged raw material of rice is sent to processing units for converting into
rice bags, where for 100kg of raw rice, we get 70-75Kg of end product of rice and this
processed rice is then re-tagged with new ID with reference to previous Tag ID.
 Then this is stored in the inventory layouts w.r.t condition and expiry date of the rice
accordingly.
 W.r.t demand the rice is supplied from inventory to the retailers.

Integration to the IOT: (sharing the information at every step to respective stakeholders)

 This IOT helps us in tracking the goods from starting in the supply chain.
 This cloud based IOT alerts stakeholders through SMS. At each step the stakeholders
who are attached to the supply chain and are registered will be informed through SMS.
 As we know stakeholders in this supply chain are mostly are unable to use mobile apps
and like to communicate through whatsapp chats and through SMS. So this IOT will send
SMS and Whatsapp messages to the stakeholders.

This cloud based system helps the farmers to get information regarding the Market Price of the Raw
rice in different places and they can sell accordingly to different processing units through FPO’s.

And wastage of rice in the supply chain will be decreased.

And even the retailers will get information regarding the availability the rice w.r.t near by area’s and
in national level. And prices of the rice in the market can be seen w.r.t region and it can be ordered
accordingly.
e-NAM:
Currently, eNAM is used for online trading for agricultural commodities in India. This market is
helping in better price discovery and providing facilities for smooth marketing of their produce.

ADVANTAGES OF e-NAM ON DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDER:

 Farmers: They can sell products without the interference of any brokers or
middlemen thereby making competitive returns out of their investment.
 Traders: Traders will be able to do secondary trading from one APMC to another one
anywhere in India. Local traders can get access to the larger national market for
secondary trading.
 Buyers like large retailers, processors or exporters will be able to source
commodities from any mandi in India thereby reducing the inter-mediation cost. Their
physical presence and dependence on intermediaries will not be needed.

 Consumers: NAM will increase the number of traders and the competition among
them increases. This translates into stable prices and availability to the consumers.

 Mandis: There will be a reduction in bookkeeping and reporting system as it will be

generated automatically. Monitoring and regulation of traders and commission agents
become easy. Transparency in the process eliminates the scope of manipulation of
tendering/auctioning process. Market allocation fee will increase due to an accounting
of all transactions taking place in the market. It will reduce the manpower
requirements as the tendering/auctioning process is carried out electronically. For
instance, the system declares the winner of lots within a few seconds. It eliminates
information asymmetry as all the activities of an APMC can be known directly from
the website.

 Others: NAM aims to improve the marketing aspect of the agriculture sector. With
one license for the entire state and single point levy, an entire state becomes a market
and the market fragmentation within the same state gets abolished. It will improve the
supply chain of commodities and reduces wastages.

CHALLENGES OF e-NAM

 Farmers face difficulty in registering themselves



OUR IDEA OF INCORPORATING BLOCKCHAIN:

Weather forcasting, delays, tracking, storage info, info from farmers about rice(pesticides, expiry,
conditions the rice are grown in, organic/inorganic, consumers are benefitted via transparency,
unique details about)

With our app we are not only making the current supply chain of rice effective and efficient but will
also provide opportunities to new and independent farmers. They can register themselves and their
produce with tag IDs in the blockchain, stating all the essential details processing companies will
need to know for eg: price, pesticides used, storing conditions, expiry dates – via this they can judge
the quality and employ new farmers.
Or even when they need to tap themselves in a different variety of rice from what they are currently
in.

This whole idea is

1) Quality Check in Enam service centres

2) Registration and Biding in Enam Service centres throughout the nation

3) Tagging is done here for the bags w.r.t durability and quality

6) Vechiles are registered at the time transport with GPS facility and with how many bags

7) This bags are stored near dealers w.r.t demand and are supplied to reatilers w.r.t demand and
durability

Elimination of intermediaries:

Quality assurance(food loss) and reduction in logistic costs: Our idea will enhance the avoidance of
failures such as delays to final destinations, poor monitoring, and frauds, as well as the assurance
that the quality of the products is maintained good along the transfer through the food chain, i.e.
good storing conditions, no contamination or impurities etc.

Small farmers support: individual farmers are able to win a bigger share of the value of the crops
they are cultivating

Empowerment: the transparency of information involved could help to solve disputes and conflicts
among the farmers in a fairer way for everyone

Environmental awareness: Proper management and rational use of agricultural fields, water
resources and soils is of utmost importance. Tracing this information via the supply chain, making it
visible to the public, is essential for putting public pressure to producers and policy-makers on the
aspect of how the food is produced in a sustainable manner.

Trusted cooperative application, increase transparency

BLOCKCHAIN
Let us now discuss how Blockchain can be employed and integrated into
rice supply chain management system:
Firstly, all the participants have to be registered on to the Blockchain
network with a Unique ID such that they can upload data and all others
can access it.
Starting with the farmer he labels his crop with a tag which when
scanned will show info like rice variety, farmer details, crop details
At procurement centres the info will be updated with quality of rice,
warehouse conditions and the buyer and farmer will sign a digital
contract etc
At processing centres the old tags will be discarded and new ones are
updated with packing details. Now discarding of old tags doesn’t mean
the old data is lost, all the previous data can still be accessed from the
network.
Distributors will update on data like prices, transportation time etc
Upon reaching retailers, the whole supply chain can be accessed from
the tag/network insuring transparency. This also empowers consumers,
that they get to make efficient choices.

SOLUTION
Our solution of blockchain and proposed app helps in eliminating
intermediaries and make the supply chain more efficient by enhancing
proper exchange of information at every stage.
The transparency of information involved can help to solve disputes and conflicts b/w farmers and
buyers in a fairer way for everyone.

This can also provide opportunities to new and independent farmers to win a bigger share of the
value of the crops they are cultivating.

Avoidance of failures such as delays to final destinations, poor monitoring will ensure reduction in
logistics cost.

The quality assurance of the products is maintained good along the transfer through the food chain,
i.e. good storing conditions, no contamination or impurities etc will ensure reduction in food loss.

Tracing the information rational use of agricultural fields, water via the supply chain, making it visible
to the public, is essential for putting public pressure to producers and policy-makers on the aspect of
how the food is produced in a sustainable manner.