Blockchain flexes its humanitarian muscles

IBM’s Food Trust network is set to use blockchain to verify information on the supply chains among farmers and buyers of coffee and cocoa in Honduras.

Their coffee and cocoa industry is notorious for poor profit equity, with small-scale coffee farmers operating at an average 46%-59% loss and reaping less than 1% of the profits from a cup of coffee sold.

IBM’s Food Trust aims to change this by capturing useful data on their blockchain, like how the beans were cleaned, dried and roasted under the framework of Fair Trade coffee regulations.

In order to trace beans along the supply chain, users access IBM’s private blockchain on which Food Trust is built. Using this software, users can securely upload data onto the network for corporate buyers to view and understand the prices of the goods sold.

“When the people drinking our coffee know where it comes from, the farmers in our cooperative benefit,” said Copranil Vice President Jorge Lopez. “Food Trust can help our network of farmers command a better premium for their beans, and potentially improve their livelihoods.”

Nice one, blockchain.

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