Indian Firm Taps Blockchain Technology for Tea Leaves Tracking

Assam Company India Limited (ACIL), an Indian corporation engaged in tea plantation, has put up a plan to integrate new technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data into its processes and reward tea farmers for their hard work. The idea is aimed at helping to maximize tea plantation output in five folds – which could amount to a targeted 50 million kilograms of tea in five years, according to reports on October 23, 2019.

Revolutionizing Tea Farming with DLT

Distributed ledger technology (DLT), the building blocks of Bitcoin, Ethereum and most altcoins, continues to have a meaningful impact on human life. In the latest development, ACIL is set to tap the revolutionary technology for tea supply chain traceability, to enable consumers from all parts of the globe to know exactly where the tea leaves they consume are harvested.

Per sources close to the matter, Assam Company India Limited (ACIL) has put up a plan to reward tea farmers using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and blockchain technology. The idea is aimed at helping to maximize tea plantation output in five-folds and help the firm meet its targeted 50 million kilograms of tea in five years.

Specifically, the team says the blockchain solution will come with a barcode scanner along with a unique reader, taking care of the traceability, identification, verification of authenticity and quality assurance processes.

Tracking the Supply Chain from “Farm to Cup”

ACIL says it has inked a partnership deal with an American firm, SmartFarms Inc, to roll out the “Farm to Cup” initiative, which is aimed at promoting transparency in the entire tea supply chain by allowing consumers to get the entire details of their tea straight from the farm. The project also seeks to properly reward farmers who grow the tea leaves.

Commenting on the innovative initiative, ACIL chairman, BR Shetty noted that the primary objective of the project is to retransform the tea industry with DLT, while also transforming people’s lives. He said:

“Our aim is to bring technology and innovation at the forefront of the tea industry. This will not only impact the lives of 26,000 farmers at our estates, but the entire workforce employed in the tea sector across the country.”

In related news, earlier in October 2019, South Korea’s KT Corporation announced plans to track food with blockchain technology, in a bid to verify the authenticity of halal products.