At a time when environmental sustainability is no longer just an aspiration but a global imperative, the marriage of cutting-edge technology and environmental commitment is creating innovative and effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions across the board. of the agricultural sector.
At the forefront of this intersection is the transformative potential of blockchain technology to make environmental commitments and claims more binding and verifiable – a dynamic synergy that holds the key to revolutionizing the way we perceive and manage real-world assets within agricultural sectors.
As the world finally begins to confront the urgent need to combat climate change, governments and regulators are now realizing that investment in modern technological systems is an imperative part of the global fight against emissions. Many of the traditional approaches that have governed sustainability measures, commitments and commitments in the past have proven inadequate and face deficits in transparency, effectiveness, verifiability and, above all, trust.
A typical example of some of these problems is the Canadian government's recent imposition of an environmental tax program on major oil companies, a policy aimed at reducing ecological impacts by increasing market prices.
This tax has proven impractical because it goes far beyond the impact of just oil companies, as it applies wherever oil and gas is used. For example, take the effect on farmers: this tax impacts them on every front, from fueling tractors, heating barns, and transporting produce. As a result, food prices are skyrocketing, and the burden is disproportionately borne by consumers who struggle to put food on the table.
Although the government's ambition was noble and driven by a desire to tackle emissions, the measures were ineffective and once again highlighted the need for more practical and achievable solutions.
The deficits of the traditional approach can begin to be addressed by leveraging modern technology, such as blockchain, to implement modern, verifiable measurement practices which will, in turn, incentivize and reward truly sustainable practices. The importance of moving to a more verifiable and reliable measurement system becomes clear when we see the commitments made at last year's COP28 conference in the United Arab Emirates.
Although there have been many grand declarations, it is now essential that concrete climate measures and incentives for environmentally friendly practices are implemented, in order to truly achieve significant reductions in gas emissions. Greenhouse effect. Moving to a more modern measurement process has the added benefit of also providing near real-time progress reporting on climate commitments, again encouraging and rewarding sustainable practices at the community level.
Bringing Everyone Together – More Effective Regulation
Deforestation represents approximately 11% of global carbon emissions – a statistic that dominated conversations at COP28 last year. 2024 represents a potential turning point in this area since the new EU anti-deforestation law, RDUEcomes into force, requiring proof that products like coffee, soy and cocoa were not produced on land subject to deforestation in order to be imported into the EU.
While climate activists have welcomed the move, it is also fair to question how farmers in the Global South can survive and comply with the EUDR without significant aid. For example, at least 70% of the world's cocoa beans are produced in West African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, then processed and distributed across Europe.
Now EU regulations will ban farmers from exporting to lucrative markets unless they can prove their produce comes from land free of deforestation – being able to confirm this is a big challenge, especially if one considers the relatively rudimentary monitoring processes that currently exist in countries. small farms in the South.
A technological transformation
New, easily accessible technology can help smallholder farmers do this.
Aerial photography and AI allow farmers to accurately differentiate between crops grown and those grown in areas affected by deforestation. Advanced machine learning enables seamless monitoring of agricultural activities, providing farmers with actionable insights based on real-time information.
Tying it all together, blockchain integration provides a transparent, secure and verifiable record of a product's history – these records provide a record of the truth, which cannot be altered once written to the blockchain . This immutable characteristic is essential to traceability processes throughout the supply chain, opening new possibilities for farmers and enabling them to comply with EUDR and other regulations.
The best part is that these technologies are now more accessible than ever through creative mobile apps that reach farmers who previously had no exposure to AgTech.
This combination of new technological elements allows farmers to access markets by complying with regulations, optimizing crop yields and minimizing environmental impacts. This opens up many new opportunities for smallholder farmers and supports more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices.
It is essential to highlight these new technological opportunities and make them easily accessible to promote more sustainable agricultural practices and, ultimately, a more environmentally sustainable future.