The project will increase the participation of DIHs in the South-East Europe Region in the digital transformation of the Agri-food sector with a focus on food traceability by using blockchain
Consumers are still not sure what they are buying, especially for “premium” or/and organic food. It is crucial to provide the right tool to offer objective information about quality and traceability. In this way, consumers that are buying “premium” or/and organic food and are paying higher prices will be able to see the history of a specific piece of food.
Our services can significantly improve entrepreneurial business. With the help of digitalization and blockchain technology, we will show how to create a transparent supply chain from Farm to Fork that will enable customers to be well informed about the history of a specific package or piece of food from the store. The project focus will also be on food processors, customers, regulators, local government officials, and consumer protection association representatives.
By using blockchain technology, data about food quality information will be available to all participants in the supply chain and especially to consumers. By increasing the transparency and traceability, the trust level between stakeholders in the value chain increases, and “premium brands” justify the trust and receive a boost in their marketing strategies.
The project „Supporting Agri-food communities and networks in SEE through developing services on digital food quality and traceability using blockchain’’, is implemented by Green eDIH, the coordinator of the project, and a consortium formed by TERA DIH, Hadas Bar DIH, Smart Village DIH, and in collaboration with Competence Centre and Cuspis, and funded by SmartAgriHubs, for the period May-September 2022.
This project focuses on supporting services that can significantly improve entrepreneurial business with the help of digitalization, using blockchain technology, and creating a transparent supply chain from Farm to Fork, as well as enabling customers to know the history of the specific package or piece of food from the store.
By complementing the scouting and ecosystem building of regional needs in digital aspects of food traceability, the Consortium partners have identified specific “Premium” food products to focus on during this project: eggs, black Slavonian pig, apples, wine, and avocado. For one chosen product per consortium partner, all elements of the Technology Road Map will be implemented, demonstrating feasibility and benefits to each stakeholder. Digital food quality and traceability will be provided using blockchain technologies in a testing environment with all processes and operations required for real-world application
The consortium consists of participants from four different countries in South-East Europe Region making it geographically dispersed and more able to reach a wide range of stakeholders throughout the Region. This collaboration will enable DIHs to offer the same new digital services with the same quality to their stakeholders and easy to understand for everyone. This technology can have various applications in the Agri-food sector, and the first step is to follow the route of food from the Farm to the Fork.
The Farm to Fork strategy is at the heart of the European Green Deal, which aims to make food systems fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly.
The Farm to Fork strategy aims to accelerate our transition to a sustainable food system that should:
Have a neutral or positive impact on the environment
Contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation
Protect biodiversity
Ensure food security, nutrition, and public health, ensuring that everyone has access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, and sustainable food
Maintain the accessibility of food, while generating more equitable economic benefits, encouraging the competitiveness of the EU's supply sector, and promoting fair trade
Green eDIH is an initiative of the GREEN TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER that aims to support the digital transformation of the European economy and society, made of over 30 entities and based in Bucharest, Romania.
Tera DIH is a consortium that operates on the principle of a “one-stop-shop” and allows companies to become more competitive in terms of business/production processes, products, or services using digital technologies.
Hadas Bar DIH aims to promote the use of innovative technologies and increase agri-food productivity per unit area and is based in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Smart Village DIH is the first Smart Village in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of bringing positive changes into rural areas and focusing on digital innovations in agricultural practice.
Competence Centre is a Vukovar-Srijem county organization based in Vinkovci, Croatia aiming to connect science and industry through research, development, and innovation projects.
Cuspis is an IT SME company with more than 16 years of experience in software development and consultancy, deeply involved in the development using blockchain technology.
The project will increase the participation of DIHs in the South-East Europe Region in the digital transformation of the Agri-food sector, with a focus on food traceability by using blockchain. It will also engage stakeholders through five service groups:
As a result of the Project, participating DIHs will be able to offer a range of new digital services:
Besides immediate project results, consortium members will be able to use the newly acquired knowledge in similar projects they are currently working on and the new ones
The idea behind blockchain technology has been described since 1991 when researchers Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta introduced a cryptographic computing system for marking digital documents so that they could not be updated or modified. The cryptographic system was upgraded in 1992 to create a secure blockchain, making it more efficient and allowing multiple documents to be assembled into a single blockchain.
Blockchain is a system for recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system.
Decentralized databases managed by several participants are known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Blockchain is a type of DLT in which transactions are recorded with an immutable cryptographic signature called a hash.
Blockchain technology combined with active and passive sensors has been around for some time, especially in the retail sector, however, it is only in recent years that the food industry has begun to pay special attention to it. Blockchain has the potential to radically improve traceability and protect consumers from counterfeit products
Traceability is an industrial term that describes the ability to track goods from source to production and consumption. The key is to identify where the product was made, who produced it, and who sold it. The systems record and track product information as it is addressed to the final consumer
The food industry is a natural candidate for traceability systems
Food supply chain companies need to ensure that their products are safe for consumption
Traceability helps to reduce damage, contamination and reduce the risk of foodborne illness by identifying problems before they reach the final consumer
When unsafe foods seep through the system and end up being consumed by end users, they can cause major problems for brands, impose sanctions, and even force businesses to close
Traceability allows food business operators to quickly identify the source of a problem and correct it before it causes damage
The manufacturer writes in the application based on blockchain technology food data during food the process of growth/production (optional)
The manufacturer prepares food for shipment by writing in the blockchain-based application information about how the food is produced, when, who produced it, and the tracking number
Optional: Delivery logistics companies write information in the blockchain-based application when the food is picked up, from whom when was delivered, and to whom
The consumer goes to the online store, the supermarket, or the agri-food market
The customer chooses the food he wants to buy
The consumer scans the code displayed with the mobile phone and can see the production and delivery history for this item. If the products are purchased from online stores, the information will be taken over automatically