Search Advanced

AIMS Agriculture and Food

2021, Volume 6, Issue 2: 560-577. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2021033
Previous Article Next Article
Research article Special Issues

Exploring opportunities and challenges to the adoption of blockchain technology in the fresh produce value chain

  • 1.
    Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, viale Giuseppe Fanin 50, 40127, Bologna, Italy
  • 2.
    Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, LN6 7TS, Lincoln, UK
  • Received: 05 January 2021 Accepted: 29 April 2021 Published: 06 May 2021

  • This study investigates the attitudes and perceptions of businesses and consumers towards the application of Blockchain technology (BCT) to fresh produce supply chains. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups (FG) were performed with fresh produce company managers and consumers, respectively. The fresh produce sector, in this context, concerns the fresh and chill chain, value-added vegetables, fruits and salads and the ingredients of these used in further food value-added processes and products. A total of five themes were identified as factors influencing BCT adoption: the novelty of the technology, supply chain characteristics, open data issues, cost-benefit analysis, and role of public stakeholders. From these, twelve sub-themes were developed and discussed. Findings provide a framework with opportunities and challenges that the fresh produce system must face in adopting decentralised systems for managing supply chain data like BCT.

    Citation: Ralph Kwadwo Osei, Marco Medici, Martin Hingley, Maurizio Canavari. Exploring opportunities and challenges to the adoption of blockchain technology in the fresh produce value chain[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2021, 6(2): 560-577. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2021033

    Related Papers:

  • This study investigates the attitudes and perceptions of businesses and consumers towards the application of Blockchain technology (BCT) to fresh produce supply chains. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups (FG) were performed with fresh produce company managers and consumers, respectively. The fresh produce sector, in this context, concerns the fresh and chill chain, value-added vegetables, fruits and salads and the ingredients of these used in further food value-added processes and products. A total of five themes were identified as factors influencing BCT adoption: the novelty of the technology, supply chain characteristics, open data issues, cost-benefit analysis, and role of public stakeholders. From these, twelve sub-themes were developed and discussed. Findings provide a framework with opportunities and challenges that the fresh produce system must face in adopting decentralised systems for managing supply chain data like BCT.


    加载中


    [1] Gupta M (2017) Blockchain For Dummies®, 2nd IBM Limited Edition.
    [2] Tripoli M, Schmidhuber J (2018) Emerging Opportunities for the Application of Blockchain in the Agri-food Industry, Rome, Italy and Geneva, Switzerland, FAO and ICTSD.
    [3] Nakamoto S (2008) Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System|Satoshi Nakamoto Institute.
    [4] Jawaheri H Al, Sabah M Al, Boshmaf Y, et al. (2020) Deanonymizing Tor hidden service users through Bitcoin transactions analysis. Comput Secur 89: 101684. doi: 10.1016/j.cose.2019.101684
    [5] Goldfeder S, Kalodner H, Reisman D, et al. (2018) When the cookie meets the blockchain: Privacy risks of web payments via cryptocurrencies. Proc Priv Enhancing Technol 2018: 179-199. doi: 10.1515/popets-2018-0038
    [6] de Vries A (2018) Bitcoin's Growing Energy Problem. Joule 2: 801-805. doi: 10.1016/j.joule.2018.04.016
    [7] Davidson S, De Filippi P, Potts J (2018) Blockchains and the economic institutions of capitalism. J Institutional Econ 14: 639-658. doi: 10.1017/S1744137417000200
    [8] Medici M, De Wrachien D, Canavari M (2020) Implications of Distributed Ledger Technologies on Firm Cost Structure and Supply Chain Integration. Open Access J Agric Res 5: 1-2.
    [9] Almeida S, Albuquerque A, Silva A (2019) An Approach to Develop Software that Uses Blockchain, In: Silhavy R (Ed.), Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Cham, Springer, 346-355.
    [10] Kakavand H, Kost De Sevres N, Chilton B (2017) The Blockchain Revolution: An Analysis of Regulation and Technology Related to Distributed Ledger Technologies. SSRN Electron J 2017: 1-27.
    [11] Kamilaris A, Fonts A, Prenafeta-Boldύ FX (2019) The rise of blockchain technology in agriculture and food supply chains. Trends Food Sci Technol 91: 640-652. doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2019.07.034
    [12] Antonucci F, Figorilli S, Costa C, et al. (2019) A review on blockchain applications in the agri-food sector. J Sci Food Agric 99: 6129-6138. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.9912
    [13] Matopoulos A, Vlachopoulou M, Manthou V, et al. (2007) A conceptual framework for supply chain collaboration: empirical evidence from the agri‐food industry. Supply Chain Manag An Int J 12: 177-186. doi: 10.1108/13598540710742491
    [14] Ahmed S, ten Broek N (2017) Blockchain could boost food security. Nature 550: 43. doi: 10.1038/550043e
    [15] Galvez JF, Mejuto JC, Simal-Gandara J (2018) Future challenges on the use of blockchain for food traceability analysis. TrAC Trends Anal Chem 107: 222-232. doi: 10.1016/j.trac.2018.08.011
    [16] Mangla SK, Kazancoglu Y, Ekinci E, et al. (2021) Using system dynamics to analyse the societal impacts of blockchain technology in milk supply chainsrefer. Transp Res Part E Logist Transp Rev 149: 102289. doi: 10.1016/j.tre.2021.102289
    [17] White V (2017) New Food magazine, Food Fraud: a challenge for the food and drink industry, 2017. Available from: https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/article/22854/food-fraud-an-emerging-risk-for-the-food-and-drink-industry/.
    [18] Yiannas F (2018) A New Era of Food Transparency Powered by Blockchain. Innov Technol Governance, Glob 12: 46-56. doi: 10.1162/inov_a_00266
    [19] CDC (2018) Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157: H7 Infections Linked to Romaine Lettuce (Final Update), 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/index.html.
    [20] Maitiniyazi S, Canavari M (2020) Exploring Chinese consumers' attitudes toward traceable dairy products: A focus group study. J Dairy Sci 103: 11257-11267. doi: 10.3168/jds.2020-18408
    [21] Ostroff S (2018) Food Safety Magazine, The Costs of Foodborne Illness, Product Recalls Make the Case for Food Safety Investments, 2018. Available from: https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/junejuly-2018/the-costs-of-foodborne-illness-product-recalls-make-the-case-for-food-safety-investments/.
    [22] Wolfert S, Ge L, Verdouw C, et al. (2017) Big Data in Smart Farming - A review. Agric Syst 153: 69-80. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2017.01.023
    [23] Lone S, Fàvero I, Quaglieri L, et al. (2019) European Ecommerce Report, Amsterdam.
    [24] Abeyratne SA, Monfared RP (2016) Blockchain ready manufacturing supply chain using distributed ledger. Int J Res Eng Technol 5: 1-10.
    [25] National Statistics (2020) Horticulture Statistics 2019, York, UK.
    [26] Maras E (2017) Fast Casual, How blockchain technology brings new efficiencies and transparency to the food supply chain, 2017. Available from: https://www.fastcasual.com/articles/how-blockchain-technology-brings-new-efficiencies-and-transparency-to-the-food-supply-chain/.
    [27] Cardon D (2017) LTO Network, Ricardian contracts-legally binding agreements on the blockchain, 2017. Available from: https://medium.com/ltonetwork/ricardian-contracts-legally-binding-agreements-on-the-blockchain-4c103f120707.
    [28] Cook J (2018) Lokaal, 12 blockchain food & agriculture companies in their own words, 2018. Available from: https://medium.com/lokaal/12-blockchain-food-agriculture-companies-in-their-own-words-71f8398252eb.
    [29] Motta GA, Tekinerdogan B, Athanasiadis IN (2020) Blockchain Applications in the Agri-Food Domain: The First Wave. Front Blockchain 3: 1-13. doi: 10.3389/fbloc.2020.00006
    [30] IBM (2018) IBM Newsroom, Maersk and IBM Introduce TradeLens Blockchain Shipping Solution, 2018. Available from: https://newsroom.ibm.com/2018-08-09-Maersk-and-IBM-Introduce-TradeLens-Blockchain-Shipping-Solution.
    [31] Kairos Future (2018) Blockchain use cases for food tracking and control, Stockholm.
    [32] Ghauri PN, Grønhaug K (2005) Research Methods in Business Studies: A Practical Guide, London, UK, Pearson Education.
    [33] Marcu A, Gaspar R, Rutsaert P, et al. (2015) Analogies, metaphors, and wondering about the future: Lay sense-making around synthetic meat. Public Underst Sci 24: 547-562. doi: 10.1177/0963662514521106
    [34] Braun V, Clarke V (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol 3: 77-101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
    [35] Hingley MK (2005) Power to all our friends? Living with imbalance in supplier-retailer relationships. Ind Mark Manag 34: 848-858. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2005.03.008
    [36] Hingley MK (2005) Power imbalanced relationships: cases from UK fresh food supply. Int J Retail Distrib Manag 33: 551-569. doi: 10.1108/09590550510608368
    [37] O'Keeffe M, Fearne A (2002) From commodity marketing to category management: insights from the Waitrose category leadership program in fresh produce. Supply Chain Manag An Int J 7: 296-301. doi: 10.1108/13598540210447737
    [38] Yli-Huumo J, Ko D, Choi S, et al. (2016) Where Is Current Research on Blockchain Technology?-A Systematic Review. PLoS One 11: e0163477. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163477
    [39] Meyer-Larsen N, Hauge JB, Müller R, et al. (2014) Accelerating the Innovation Uptake in Logistics, In: Blecker T, Kersten W, Ringle CM (Eds.), Innovative Methods in Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Current Issues and Emerging Practices. Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics (HICL), Hamburg, Germany, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute of Business Logistics and General Management, 3-26.
    [40] Canavari M, Centonze R, Hingley M, et al. (2010) Traceability as part of competitive strategy in the fruit supply chain. Br Food J 112: 171-186. doi: 10.1108/00070701011018851
    [41] Jun M (2018) Blockchain government - a next form of infrastructure for the twenty-first century. J Open Innov Technol Mark Complex 4: 7. doi: 10.1186/s40852-018-0086-3
    [42] Auer S, Bizer C, Kobilarov G, et al. (2007) DBpedia: A Nucleus for a Web of Open Data, In: Aberer K, Choi K-S, Noy N, et al. (Eds.), The Semantic Web. ISWC 2007, ASWC 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Berlin, Springer, 722-735.
    [43] Pesce M, Kirova M, Soma K, et al. (2019) Research for AGRI Committee - Impacts of the digital economy on the food chain and the CAP, Bruxelles, Belgium.
    [44] Xiong H, Dalhaus T, Wang P, et al. (2020) Blockchain Technology for Agriculture: Applications and Rationale. Front Blockchain 3: 1-7. doi: 10.3389/fbloc.2020.00007
    [45] Aldrighetti A, Canavari M, Hingley MK (2021) A Delphi Study on Blockchain Application to Food Traceability. Int J Food Syst Dyn 12: 6-18.
    [46] Horsemeat scandal: the essential guide|Horsemeat scandal|The Guardian.
  • Reader Comments
  • © 2021 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
  • 1. 

    沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

  1. 本站搜索
  2. 百度学术搜索
  3. 万方数据库搜索
  4. CNKI搜索
AIMS Agriculture and Food
1.9 3.7

Metrics

Article views(4910) PDF downloads(337) Cited by(14)

Preview PDF
Download XML
Export Citation
Article outline

Figures and Tables

Tables(1)

Other Articles By Authors

Related pages

Tools

/

DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
Return
Return

Catalog