Source: Wit Olszewski – Shutterstock
- A recent real-life farming model has proven that the Stellar blockchain can drive sustainability in low and middle-income countries.
- The model used the Stellar blockchain to make small payments at negligible fees to farmers in Thailand from the U.K.
The application of blockchain technology in agriculture has been growing by the day, with hundreds of startups launching proofs of concept projects. Mobile-first software services provider Task has completed a trial using blockchain to remit payments across borders. The trial proved that the Stellar blockchain can drive sustainability in real-life farming models.
Task allows its users to create initiatives on its platform and allocate credits such as stablecoins to the project’s wallet. The programme manager then establishes the activities to track, such as requiring certain images or documents to prove a particular task is completed. Once the remote teams complete the assigned tasks and submit the proof, the Task platform credits their wallets.
In their recent trial project, Task brought together a U.K-based programme manager with farming communities in Thailand. The project was built on the Stellar blockchain, allowing the remittance of the funds at very low fees ($0.00002) and in less than five seconds.
On why the company chose to use Stellar, Task founder and CEO Steve Walker stated:
One of the reasons we chose Stellar for our Blockchain technology was their focus on low-cost, cross-border payments. Stellar is specifically designed to make traditional forms of money—the money people have been spending and saving for centuries—more useful and accessible.
Task payments are made in stablecoins due to the volatile nature of most cryptocurrencies. The platform currently supports AnchorUSD’s USDX token, Circle Internet Financial’s USDC token and Settle Network’s ARST and BRLT stablecoins.
Transforming agriculture with Stellar
In their trial agro-rewards project, the company allows the administrator to create an initiative to incentivize the production of Biochar. Task supports local dialects, allowing the less tech-savvy farmers to interact with the platform.
Once the farmer produces the Biochar, he uploads the documents and images as proof on the Task platform. Upon receipt of the proof, the administrator then releases the payment which instantly reflects on the farmer’s wallet.
In another trial project on the Task platform, another agro-tech startup known as Smart Agro has been working with farmers in Cambodia. The company trains the farmers in soil and water management and other sustainable farming practices.
Marc Eberle, the founder of Smart Agro explained why his company has been using the Stellar blockchain-based platform:
We use Task to manage the project internally as well as the farmers. It creates buy-in from farmers when they upload their images and fill in their data. We can support them in their implementation in workshops and via the Task app, and in turn the app helps us to create demand and build a market for a variety of regenerative products that help farmers make their operations more sustainable and more profitable.”
Credit: Source link
