How DePINs is connecting farmers and businesses with blockchain.

To transform the global food supply chain and empower farmers, Farmcent, a farmer-centric blockchain, has unveiled a new partnership, Blockchain Peak, focused on Layer-1 DPin.

The partnership, announced on April 9, is a step forward in the agricultural supply chain's goal of decentralizing agricultural marketing, enhancing transparency in global food trade, and building a global Web3 marketplace that connects farmers with direct-to-consumer businesses.

Using decentralized physical infrastructure network (DPI) sensors to monitor product quality and quantity, Farmsent says it will eliminate centralized middlemen and reduce costs for all stakeholders, all while ensuring transparency in the supply chain.

Cointelegraph heard from Yog Shusti, co-founder and CEO of Farmsent, about the use of DPin in the agriculture sector.

Connecting business

Shusti called Farmsent's DePIN use case “especially exciting for agriculture” because the technology will be used in ways that benefit farmers and consumers.

“It provides farmers with secure digital identities for better market access, but also allows them to provide real-time information about their crops. This includes critical details such as soil moisture, pH content and humidity.”

This information allows farmers to make “informed decisions” to improve crop health and yield, he said. But for consumers, the DPin system allows them to get information about the food they buy.

“This can include details about the farm's operation, the origin of the food and how it is grown. It empowers consumers to make informed choices about the food they put on their table.

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The current global food trade situation highlights the need for urgent change. Although farmers are the backbone of the industry, they often receive a disproportionately low share of the value captured in the market.

Balance for the world

According to PharmSent, it plans to address this by cutting out traditional middlemen and enabling direct marketing between farmers and consumers.

The platform, currently in beta, will be used to track coffee, avocados and palm sugar between Indonesia, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates — where it already has a license to operate — and the United States. PharmSent said it is currently working to obtain three more licenses.

Shusti said that storing large amounts of data from sensors, farms and partners can be expensive on traditional blockchains.

“As Pharmcent expands its reach into new markets and connects with more farmers and consumers, the volume of information and transactions within the network will inevitably increase.”

Therefore, he said, Peaq was chosen because of its ability to store data and scale in a cost-effective manner. Peek Network has been gaining traction after recently raising $15 million in a Series A round led by Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital.

In the past, he has worked with major companies such as Bosch on DPin projects and the decentralized Web3 ride-sharing initiative across Europe to simulate 100 Teslas.

Data and security

Handling the marketing and information of farmers and business owners around the world is not only a big task, but also keeping all information safe and secure.

According to the Farmsent CEO, the DPin network collects data from three sources. In one, it is entered by people and then verified. Information about farm practices, harvest details and initial processing can be manually entered and checked for accuracy by authorized personnel.

It can also be collected through Internet of Things (IoT) sensors placed throughout the supply chain (farms, storage facilities, transport) that can continuously monitor conditions such as temperature, humidity and freshness.

Finally, information is purchased from third-party partners such as logistics companies that provide information relevant to transportation and storage conditions.

To keep this data secure, Shusty told Cointelegraph that Peak uses Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) to further improve data privacy.

“DIDs work like unique identifiers on the blockchain that can be linked to data without revealing the actual data itself. “

He said that this will allow for verification of information and control by protecting sensitive information.

This use case in the agriculture industry is not only exciting, says Peck co-founder Till Wendler, but is “one of the most important” because of its promise to push back global food security and “provide cheaper, higher-quality produce for people around the world” – and Safely.

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