Australian blockchain firm AgriChain has received an investment of A$6 million ($4 million) from Sydney-based Cornerstone Growth Capital. AgriChain is a blockchain supply chain management platform for agricultural products, which connects growers, brokers, and logistics partners.
Australia is a major agricultural producer and exporter. Total production in agriculture was A$60 billion ($40 billion) in 2018–19, with the largest contributions coming from horticulture (A$11.6 billion), cattle (A$11.3 billion) and wheat (A$6.2 billion).
The AgriChain software aims to provide end-to-end visibility of the agricultural supply chain. It automates the delivery process, tracking the transport of produce from the farm to the end-user. The platform offers real-time data for each stakeholder within the supply chain, enabling transparency.
“The end result for our customers is improving their bottom line by conducting business on one simple platform,” Caile Ditterich, CEO of AgriChain told Global AgInvesting.
Some of the features of the AgriChain platform include stock management, contracting, supply chain tracking, logistics automation, broker integration, truck receivals, traceability, and position reporting.
Based on Ethereum, AgriChain held a token sale of its AGRI token back in 2018. The token is being used to process transactions on the platform.
Among other initiatives in the country, DBS and agricultural commodity business Agrocorp are deploying a blockchain trade platform for Australian farmers.
Another notable name is the blockchain platform GrainChain, which is backed by Medici Ventures, a unit of Overstock.com. The solution uses smart contracts to process transactions and enables the traceability of agricultural products.
A few months ago, Consultancy firm KPMG launched a blockchain track and trace platform in Australia, China and Japan. While it is focused on food traceability, KPMG said the platform is scalable to other industries.
Some of the biggest agricultural companies, namely Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, Glencore, and Louis Dreyfus, are part of the Covantis consortium. It is exploring blockchain for digitizing transactions.
Among food traceability projects, Beefledger is tracking the export of Australian meat to China.
