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Trust | Transparency | Traceability

Case Study Mango Traceability

16 December 2021  |  Blockchain | Traceability

Mango Traceability TRST01

In the post-pandemic era, the importance of food traceability is growing in magnitude. Consumers have the right to know everything about the food they consume and the journey to their tables. They want to see how the food is grown, the input materials used, the fertilizer used, the package of practice adopted, the pesticide other micro-macro nutrient management used that produces their food, including the geo-location from where the foods coming. This is the significance of traceability in the era of conscious living.

Traceability systems have become increasingly important in recent years to help solve some serious issues across the industry surrounding food safety, contamination and fraud. The agricultural sector has been an early user and developer of provenance and traceability systems to demonstrate safety. Today, producers deploy various emerging technologies to develop and authenticate links between the end-user and primary producer.

Purpose of Mango Traceability

Every choice of the King of Fruit would bring the best variety of mangoes at the height of freshness, flavour & nutrition. Establishing traceability technology (on the History and origin of Mango, package of Practice used, location of the plantation, harvested date, ripening methods followed, quality checks and transportation conditions) for different data/event points will help consumers get value for their money curb product mislabelling. The complete journey of fruit is made available to the consumers. This is especially relevant for all, as authenticity and origin are essential parameters in ensuring the correct value translation from producers to consumers.

Problem Statement

In the absence of any robust technology, Mango Business owners challenge establishing the origin claims, Package of Practice used, supply chain transparency, and proving the claims on freshness through a scientific methodology.

With the thousands of Mango varieties India produce, each variety of Mangos has its unique characteristics and premium pricing; there is a large scale of counterfeit and fake categorization of mangoes prevalent in the market.
Another significant concern is the artificial ripening process some mango producers use, making the mangoes look delectable, leaving a bad taste in the mouth and wallets, and raising health concerns.
At the global stage, India Mango exports have seen a steady decline year on year in the Asian market and the South American countries. Technology adoption could be a gamechanger for our farmers focused on exports and to be able to realize the absolute value for the produce.

Solution 

TRST01 (Trust-O-One) Blockchain platform performs a complete source trace of the produce from the time the farmers start harvesting the fruits or even before with package of practice he adapts, geotagging the fields, and the time taken for the natural ripening. All data points are recorded and stored in the blockchain. 

TRST01 platform generates Unique Hash and integrates QR codes for the Mango tray/ individual fruit level. The collected information gets updated in the blockchain platform in real-time, monitored and shared among various stakeholders.

The Need for Blockchain Technology 

Research suggests that the use of blockchain in Agri traceability (food and seed) significantly alleviates issues concerning certification, fraud, and transparency throughout the supply chain. 

Trust, Transparency and Traceability collaborative blockchain-enabled platform is considered an added value to the products. It enhances values for local producers and ensures that customers get the best quality products. It will also allow producers to conform to the local and international safety standards for traceability.

Business Impact

Due to client confidentiality, we are unable to disclose the Business Identity.  

The fresh vegetable Supply chain brand established a suitable pricing model. With the pandemic hitting the world and more orders being placed online, they demonstrated further the authenticity of the variety and the source. 

About the Brand 

The Brand is a leading Fruits & Vegetable retail chain based in south India with the Farm to store supply chain model. It has grown 3 to XX stores in just two years. It also has a network of 16,000 plus farmers across five states. The Brand disrupted the fresh Vegetable market with its innovative model. All fruits and vegetables are sourced directly from the farmers and sold pretty to the customers through its franchise stores. All stores are modern, and part of a community that can buy fresh produce without changing many hands reach customers one day before the conventional trade.

All fruits and vegetables are sourced directly from the farmers at above market price and sold on a fair price model to the customers through its franchise stores. All stores are modern, and part of a community that can buy fresh produce without changing many hands reach customers one day before the conventional trade.

Mango orchards

Benefits of Mango Traceability

Any variety of Mango under its respective breed can now be traced back to its source by scanning the blockchain-enabled QR code on it. Consumers can scan with their smartphones, allowing them to track the product from the Farm to the shelf. The traceability feature is the transparent mechanism to share the farmers’ sustainable and ethical agriculture practices and create operational efficiency in the entire supply chain management. This also makes Social Impact an essential aspect on various stakeholders, recorded and formulated or shared in association with the product. The transparency and traceability network created with a particular breed of mangoes helps make a better market for farmers and create a brand of trust and customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

The Agri-tech sector can benefit immensely from implementing a blockchain-based traceability framework. Approximately 60% of our country’s population is dependent on agriculture. This is the fundamental reason for the entire community to work hand-in-hand with the government and the regulators to implement a robust, blockchain-enabled traceability system. Such an initiative will bring immense benefits in the long run and can play a turnkey role in aligning the supply chain network from Farm to fork, resulting in a win-win situation for everyone.

By Ananth Iyer Management Trainee , TRST01.  Under Guidance Sheetal Srikanth, CGO TRST01, Write to us journey@trst01.com

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