The global charity organization which is known as Oxfam recently launched a new blockchain technology platform which is aimed at aiding in the enhancement of traceability and transparency on the rice supply chain of Cambodia.

Dubbed BlocRice, this app utilizes distributed ledger technology (DLT) to implement smart contracts containing details such as the farm gate price of organic rice, trade volume and transportation methods are recorded.

This project which will kick off with 50 rice farmers in the Preah Vihear province of Cambodia, during the first year is set to boost the bargaining power of all those participating with negotiations with buyers of their produce possibly giving them higher prices.

Solinn Lim, the country director of Oxfam in Cambodia had this to say:

“The application of blockchain technology is expected to enhance the negotiation power of small-scale farmers in their rice value chains, who are usually poor primary producers,”

In addition to this, the BlocRice up will also connect all the various players on the supply chain, everyone from the farmers, the Cambodian rice exporters and even Dutch importers starting right from the beginning of planting season.

“All actors, from the agricultural cooperatives up to [Dutch rice manufacturer] SanoRice, will have a shared, digital contract. During the process, from planting to the manufacturing of rice crackers, the chain actors will share information with each other through their shared database powered by blockchain.” said Solinn.

Cashless Payments To Be Introduced:

During the initial pilot phase of BlocRice, farmers will be introduced to cashless payments & will be facilitated by Acleda Bank, Cambodia’s largest commercial bank in terms assets and clients with the participating farmers already having opened bank accounts with the financial institution.

As of today, it is estimated that 60% of Cambodia’s labour workforce is in the agricultural sector. By enhancing transparency, specifically with regards to prices is expected to improve the lives of many and empower a notable size of the Cambodian populace.

Currently, the blockchain pilot is only tied to organic rice but in the near future it could very well be expanded to other notable Cambodian agricultural products such as cassava, cashew nuts and pepper. Oxfam has goals to up the amount of participating farmers to 1000 by 2020 and by as much as 5000 by 2022.

Other Southeast Asia Countries To Implement Blockchain:

Southeast Asia is, of course, a major rice producer of the globe and thus Cambodia is not the only nation which is exploring blockchain avenues for the purpose of benefitting farmers. Last month Thailand’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) revealed that it is also to unveil a number of blockchain projects which will serve the purpose of increasing efficiency in the rice sector among other things.

Pimchanok Vonkorpon, the director of TPSO was quoted saying the following on the matter:

“Using blockchain for the process could reduce processing time to less than three days, improving transparency and increasing confidence and trust for exporters and foreign importers, benefiting Thai farmers.”

With major companies in the east & west (Walmart) implementing blockchain technology in the agriculture sector, could the rest of the world follow suit in the near future? Let us know your thoughts

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