Investigating the impact of blockchain technology in promoting inclusive innovation in Tanzania’s agricultural supply chains

 

Tanzania's Warehouse Receipts System and Contract Farming System were established to promote post-harvest management, fair trade and reliable market information for both informal and formal agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These innovation support programs have improved agricultural supply chains but the benefits to participating enterprises are not equally distributed.

Currently, formal SMEs are viewed as benefiting more than informal producers from these systems, as well as having more influence in setting crop prices and favourable contracts than informal enterprises. Equal and timely access to market information by all agricultural producers has the potential to evenly distribute the benefits that the Warehouse and Contract Farming systems generate. Preliminary findings suggest that introducing blockchain technology into these systems could improve the transparency of market transactions and efficiencies in agricultural supply chains. A potential beneficiary of such changes would be informal SMEs and women-led enterprises, who represent the majority of producers.

In partnership with the Warehouse Receipts System and the Contract Farming System, the team led by the University of Dodoma will test whether blockchain adoption can promote inclusive innovation in Tanzania's agricultural supply chains. The team will selectively introduce blockchain technology in both the Warehouse and Contract Farming systems and train stakeholders to use the technology. The team will compare the results in terms of increasing transparent and timely information, trust in these systems and market efficiency. Importantly, the team will also assess whether blockchain technology results in improved outcomes for informal SMEs and women-led enterprises. Finally, the team will share the research findings with those involved in improving Tanzania’s agricultural supply chains and other innovation agencies that could learn from this study.

This project received Stage 1 funding through the 2020 Evidence for Innovation open competition and a Stage 2 grant in 2022.