By HENRY DUCKWORTH
A WAVE of innovative start-ups is emerging in the agritech industry. Their mission: improve food production and supply chain management, and increase transparency in the sector.
These start-ups face several challenges. The most pressing is limited access to funding, a complex macro-economic environment, and continued scepticism from the industry towards new technologies. But blockchain is revolutionising things.
It has yet to be fully embraced by the sector, despite obvious benefits. The technology is changing the game with its famous record-keeping system. Another benefit is the availability of human capital. The intersection between blockchain and food production has attracted some bright minds. A challenging aspect is that there are often more candidates than vacancies.
A business model harnessing the benefits of this tech can have a competitive advantage in a crowded market. By choosing our governance token to become a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO), we have managed to stay ahead of our competition. The token represents an opportunity to prove that your platform cannot be infiltrated by large organisations or bad actors. This means that small-scale producers and traders aren’t handicapped by their size.
It also allows a positive treasury function to exist, allowing us to hire and roll out software. There remain, of course, some challenges.
Regulatory uncertainty is a concern, as many countries are still developing blockchain policies. Blockchain-based solutions are expensive to develop and require effort to maintain. It does, however, allow start-ups to showcase their capabilities and build trust with consumers.
The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, blockchain could store as much as 10 percent of the global GDP. Being at the forefront of this adoption means that agritech start-ups can gain a competitive advantage.
Blockchain promotes the creation of an equitable environment for all stakeholders. This is particularly true in the agricultural sector. Tech advances helping to put food on our tables are a crucial step for our collective future development. The future of agriculture is looking brighter than ever.
Henry Duckworth is co-founder and COO of AgriDex.
