Can bitcoin technology help farmers get a better deal?

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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44642175

Digital technology is helping to transform the lives - and profits - of farmers. From apps to the blockchain technology behind bitcoin, farmers and smallholders are discovering new ways of doing business.

Take Muhammed Adams, a cocoa farmer from Sefwi Madina in the remote western region of Ghana, who has been growing cocoa in the same way for 25 years.

Over the last couple of years, however, the Olam Farmer Information System (OFIS) run by commodities giant Olam, has helped him more than triple output - and reduce reliance on pesticides.

"Before I received my OFIS farm development plan I was harvesting seven bags of cocoa," Mr Adams says. "But last year I managed 25 bags thanks to the changes I've made."

The Olam technology puts him in direct contact with advisers. When, for example, Mr Adams has an outbreak of disease, he's learning that resorting to chemicals is not the only answer.

"The training I have received has showed me I don't need to spray my cocoa so much with pesticides, saving me a lot of money and helping me grow more cocoa," he says.

"The technology has really helped to bring the world closer to me."

It's a heartening tale, given the World Economic Forum's prediction that food production must rise by 50-100% by 2050 to keep pace with population growth.

But with farming in crisis in many parts of the world, can technology really help the agricultural sector meet this seemingly unfeasible target?

This gives a lot of food for thought.