Coffee companies tap blockchain tech for supply chain project
Farmer Connect, a startup building farm-to-consumer traceability solutions based on the IBM Food Trust Platform, has partnered with the likes of Jacobs Douwe Egberts and The J.M. Smucker Company to apply blockchain technology to coffee supply chain tracking.
It has worked with IBM to build a Thank My Farmer app which provides consumers with detailed data about coffee products, including origin and pricing. The first version of this will be available to test users in select markets operated by Farmer Connect’s partners before launching the service to the entire coffee community and other commodities in 2020.
“Global coffee prices recently hit the lowest price in over a decade, and many farmers are being forced to exit the industry entirely by turning to new crops or migrating. If this trend continues, it will severely impact the broader supply chain, and it will likely be consumers who ultimately shoulder the burden of higher retail prices or a reduced number of coffee producing countries,” says Dave Behrends, Founder and President, Farmer Connect.
“Blockchain technology, combined with digital identity and the ability to support sustainable projects across borders, is poised to bring radical transparency, efficiency, and data-driven sustainability metrics that have the possibility to birth a new, more equitable economic model in one of the world’s most vital commodity markets,” he adds.
“Our participation demonstrates our commitment to providing consumers with the transparency they crave while also creating new ways to support smallholder coffee farmers,” comments Joe Stanziano, Senior Vice President and General Manager at The J.M. Smucker Company. “We’re excited to pair our coffee expertise with the other great companies working on this initiative to ensure Farmer Connect is a success for everyone involved.”