Empowering Farmers with Blockchain-based Transparency Throughout the Value Chain

Abstract

Majority of the Indian farmers growing diverse local crops and traditional cultivars are small small-landholding
farmer. Lower yields and challenges to fi nd a value chain are accentuated by the eff ects of climate change.
Since 2003, a new provision has been made available to farmers to come together and form ‘Farmer Producer
Organization’ and ‘Farmer Producer Company’, in which farmers themselves are shareholders and external
entities aren’t allowed to become investors. Currently, there are 7,000 such registered groups in India, and
it’s being hailed as a promising step towards farmer liberation. Many farmer collectives, especially Farmer
Producer Companies, are eagerly adopting emerging technologies for their operations, scaling, value-chain
integration, and marketing purposes. This paper will seek to explore a case study of India’s largest farmer
collective of fruits and vegetables regarding their usage of Blockchain technology in bringing transparency
and effi ciency across their integrated value chain.