Thailand through its Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) has revealed it is initiating a project to use blockchain technology to monitor agricultural products such as organic rice.
According to the TPSO, the country which ranks among top producers of organic rice, has exported 16,500 tons of rice in 2018 and is expected to increase to 247,000 tons by 2021. However, this rice export trade has seen lot of challenges including quality and product reliability which have affected the products’s demand.
Through the blockchain program, the TPSO will look to utilize blockchain technology for production-to-export traceability in an attempt to boost buyers confidence. The new system will allow tracing and verification of rice products from cultivation to final packaging.
Details of the process include, an installation of cameras at the rice fields to ensure they are genuinely organic, as well as a verification process by the agency before issuing of authenticity certificates.
Additionally, financial institutions which act as payment intermediary will be responsible for providing the buyer information and country of export.
Speaking on the initiative, TPSO Director Pimchanok Vonkorpon explained:
“This system will help instill confidence in Thai organic rice, reducing problems of buyer’s rejection, product adulteration, and licence subrogation in order to increases the bargaining power and add more value to the product, as well as creating opportunities for expanding export markets. The buyers can check the source of organic rice, if they have a problem such as finding that it is not organic rice, they will be able to reject it.“
The DG notes that the initiative will include 5,000 farmers and is expected to kick of in the middle of next year.
