It’s Not Blockchain That Matters – It’s Data

It’s Not Blockchain That Matters – It’s Data

It’s time for your Farm of the Future Report. I’m Tim Hammerich.

The word “blockchain” is often met with mixed reactions. Marieke de Ruyte of The New Fork says the technology is not what’s important, it’s what blockchain enables each of us to do with our own data.

De Ruyte… “Blockchain enables us to govern the data system of our food system. And blockchain is fundamental, very basic, very boring technology that helps to organize that in a way that is future proof.”

She describes it as a digital passport that nobody owns. Each person that handles a commodity adds information to the passport and gets to decide who else can see that information.

De Ruyte… “A lot of technology, a lot of software makes a wrong design decision. They make the life of a farmer more difficult. And with blockchain, you use already existing information, existing data, but you make the data more valuable. You can tell your story better. Therefore you can make sustainable farming, uh, a sustainable business. So you make your own business more bankable or more profitable. Because your information gets finally a value for your consumer or customers.”

She sees an opportunities for farmers to sell not only their harvest the but the story and behind it with minimal effort.