GrainChain Poised to Transform Honduras’ Coffee Industry with DLT
GrainChain, a Medici Ventures-backed distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm that claims to be focused on developing innovative solutions for the agricultural sector, has inked a strategic partnership deal with market participants and stakeholders in Honduras’ coffee industry. The alliance will enable GrainChainit to develop blockchain and Io- based supply chain management solutions that would help coffee farmers minimize risk and easily gain access to loans, according to a press release on September 24, 2019.
GrainChain Fostering Transparency with DLT
As stated in its press release, GrainChain is collaborating coffee farmers in Honduras to integrate blockchain technology and IoT into the entire coffee supply chain, in an effort to promote transparency, minimize risk, improve conditions, among other excellent benefits.
Honduras is the 9th-largest coffee producer in the world, producing around 240,000 tons of organic coffee each year, but the falling prices of coffee and sustainability issues have thrown the nation’s coffee industry into a severe crisis.
GrainChain to the Rescue
Reportedly, GrainChain plans to fix the problems plaguing Honduras’ coffee industry by using its blockchain and IoT-powered platform to improve the trust between coffee farmers and banks, to promote financial inclusion and enable unbanked farmers in remote areas to gain access to essential financial services.
What’s more, GrainChain says its complete suite of IoT tools will help improve accuracy for all stakeholders during the process, and farmers will enjoy the dividends that come with improved transparency, including quick and proper payments.
Commenting on the development, Francisco Fortin, general manager of Confianza SA-FGR, a key insurance provider to the Agric industry, noted that the complex process of growing coffee makes it almost impossible for farmers and other stakeholders to be on the same page at all times, a situation that significantly lowers trust across the supply chain.
However “with GrainChain’s blockchain solution, we can assure that all parties are able to participate in the coffee supply chain with much greater visibility and minimized risk through every step,” he added.
Loans to farmers
Importantly, GrainChain will provide coffee farmers with a digital wallet that will make it possible for all farmers, including the unbanked ones to apply for loans that would enable them to improve the standard of their products, while banks, on the other hand, will be able to actively supervise and direct the farmers on how to use the funds.
That’s not all, GrainChain’s platform will also enable Insurance firms in the region to automate underwriting of farmer loans backed by banks and the government, while also benefiting national coffee exporters, growers and other stakeholders in a number of ways.
