Improving Farmers’ Participation in Agri Supply Chains with Blockchain and Smart Contracts

The global environment, with its dynamic and varied changes, creates unstable and demanding conditions for the customs system of the European Union to cope with. The article aims to identify and describe the most pressing challenges to the EU customs system in the context of the customs handling of supply chain actors. The hypothesis for verification is that the EU system is not static in the face of the volatility, uncertainty and ambiguity of the environment; instead, it responds to all challenges arising, so as to ensure guarantee professional customs handling to participants in supply chains. The article is composed of two parts followed by a summary. The first part addresses the role of customs in supply chains; the second part presents the most important challenges to the EU’s customs system directly related to the customs handling of participants in international supply chains. The summary concludes the issues raised in the investigation. The study relies on traditional research methods: deductive reasoning and comparative analysis.

Supermarkets have expanded rapidly in SADC during the last decade, leading to fears that small-scale farmers and food processors could be excluded from access to urban markets. To assess the impact of supermarket chains on various participants in the supply chain, a survey was carried out in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia in 2004, 2005 and 2007. To determine the factors that influence the choice between the supermarket or traditional market channel and the impact of participation in the supermarket supply chain, a two-step treatment model was used. The results showed that over 80% of all processed food products in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia were imported from South Africa, and that supermarkets used a mixture of procurement systems for fresh fruit and vegetables and processed food products. Participation in the supermarkets channel had a positive impact on small-scale farmers' incomes. Farmers who supplied fresh fruit and vegetables to supermarkets had a significantly higher income than those who supplied to traditional markets in Zambia. The expansion of South African supermarkets into the SADC countries may be beneficial to small-scale farmers and therefore efforts should be made to incorporate them into the supermarkets' fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain.

High-value agricultural supply chains have been playing an increasingly important role in developing countries and have had significant effects on the rural labour markets. This paper analyses the simultaneous effects of small producer participation in the latter on both household hired labour demand and off-farm labour supply, using an age-disaggregated approach. Failing to reject the separability hypothesis as well as the exogeneity of small producer participation in export supply chains, we apply lognormal double-hurdle models and find that participation in vegetable export supply chains in Tanzania affects positively a household’s decision to hire labour from all age groups. We also find that it increases the unconditional overall level of hired labour demand, while the age-disaggregated analysis shows that these effects benefit mostly rural youth. However, no evidence of an effect on household off-farm labour supply is found.

The emergence of the concept of sustainable development has put greater emphasis on economic activities that are socially and environmentally responsible. The social dimension of sustainable development reflects increasing interest in integrating poor people into global supply chains. This article begins with the assumption that to fully understand supply chain integration, one must first understand the relations between chain actors. In particular, one needs to understand smallholder motivation for participation in chains. In this article we use the concept of the value chain to examine, based on a case study from a particular agricultural value chain, the smallholder rationales for inclusion in or exclusion from the chain. Understanding these rationales is important for chain sustainability. Granovetter’s notion of “values” provides an explanation for what motivates opting for inclusion in or exclusion from a chain (Granovetter, 1985). We also present evidence about the role of partnerships in contributing to equitable outcomes for smallholders by participation in supply chains, hence aiding chain sustainability.

As global supply chains become increasingly complex, traditional systems face challenges in ensuring efficiency, transparency, and innovation. Block chain technology has emerged as a transformative force in addressing these issues, offering a decentralized and secure framework for supply chain management. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the impact of block chain on supply chains, focusing on its potential to enhance efficiency, transparency, and foster innovation. The efficiency gains facilitated by block chain in supply chain management are examined through the elimination of intermediaries, reduction of paperwork, and real-time visibility into the entire process. These improvements result in streamlined operations, reduced costs, and enhanced responsiveness to market dynamics. Moreover, block chain’s decentralized nature ensures data integrity, mitigating the risk of fraud and errors in the supply chain. Transparency is a critical aspect of modern supply chains, and block chain provides an immutable and transparent ledger that enables end-to-end visibility. The technology ensures traceability and accountability, allowing stakeholders to access real-time information about the origin, movement, and status of products. This transparency not only enhances trust among supply chain participants but also facilitates compliance with regulatory requirements. The role of block chain in fostering innovation within supply chains is explored, emphasizing its potential to enable new business models, collaborative ecosystems, and the integration of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The paper highlights case studies and pilot projects where block chain has been successfully applied to drive innovation in supply chain processes. Challenges and considerations related to the implementation of block chain in supply chain management are also discussed, including interoperability, scalability, and regulatory issues. The paper concludes by outlining future research directions and emphasizing the need for industry-wide collaboration to unlock the full potential of block chain in revolutionizing supply chain management. Overall, this review contributes to the understanding of how block chain can serve as a catalyst for efficiency, transparency, and innovation in contemporary supply chains

In recent years, sustainable supply and value chains for fishing have attracted the attention of many researchers. However, the existing literature lacks studies that explore different perspectives on sustainability within these fishing supply chains. This study is therefore unique because it not only addresses this gap but also examines the often-overlooked roles of power and trust in achieving sustainability. By using a quantitative approach, this study aims to provide new insights into these complex relationships. Firstly, the research aims to determine whether the perceptions of three distinct groups regarding sustainability indicators differ significantly. Secondly, it investigates the impact of institutional, collective, and bargaining power on the trust dynamics among supply chain participants. To achieve this, a comprehensive approach was employed, using structured questionnaires to collect data from 100 supply chain actors, including fishers, agents, and retailers, in Goa, India. The data were then carefully analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA in SPSS, and Partial Least Squares- Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The study identified significant perceptual differences in four of the 19 sustainability indicators at a 10% significance level. The findings from PLS-SEM reveal important links between the power and trust dynamics among supply chain participants. These insights will help policymakers and stakeholders understand how supply chain participants perceive sustainability and clarify the relationship between power and trust. This understanding can support efforts to build trust within supply chains. Additionally, the study offers valuable insights that can directly inform policies to improve sustainability in fishing supply chains.

The study explores the transformative role of blockchain technology in enhancing transparency and traceability within the agricultural food supply chain. By leveraging blockchain's inherent characteristics of decentralization, immutability, and security, stakeholders can significantly improve information sharing and visibility from farm to consumer. The study delves into how blockchain addresses longstanding transparency and traceability issues that have plagued the agricultural sector. Real-world examples illustrate blockchain's successful application in agriculture, showcasing its capacity to boost transparency, operational efficiency, and trust among supply chain participants. These case studies demonstrate how blockchain creates tamper-proof records, enhances end-to-end visibility, and provides reliable, real time data. The technology's potential to combat fraud, promote sustainability, and ensure product authenticity is also explored. Furthermore, the research investigates blockchain's impact on food safety, particularly when integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart contracts. These synergies enable automated, secure data collection and the execution of predefined agreements, further streamlining supply chain processes. Successful implementations across various areas of supply chain management, including logistics, inventory tracking, and quality control, are highlighted to demonstrate the practical benefits of blockchain adoption. By providing an in-depth analysis of blockchain's potential, this study underscores its pivotal role in building consumer trust regarding food safety, quality, and origin. The research concludes by discussing the challenges and opportunities for widespread blockchain adoption in agriculture, offering insights into its future trajectory and potential to revolutionize the global food supply chain.

PurposeThis research introduces a service-oriented and decentralised application (Dapp), TrustyChain, which implements the innovations connected to blockchain technology (BT) and cryptocurrencies to facilitate the application of smart contracts throughout an entire supply chain. The application is designed to impact supply chain performances, optimising transaction costs and lead time while leveraging network economies to generate a competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approachIn conducting our research, we developed a case study by adopting Yin’s methodological framework and offering an as-is/to-be scenario. Linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the impact on the target variables.FindingsThis study demonstrates how blockchain-based DApp innovations enhance information flow and optimise transaction costs by resolving the challenges associated with purchase and sale decisions. Specifically, the adoption of TrustyChain has underscored the strengthened structural alignment of exchange processes among supply chain participants, significantly improving transparency, traceability and operational efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides valuable insights for managers and practitioners, facilitating the understanding of the DApp implementation process and increasing the likelihood of effective application, which is essential for establishing a sustainable supply chain network. Additionally, our research emphasises the critical role of innovations in advancing supply chain transparency and efficiency while also shedding light on their substantial influence on trust dynamics within supply chains. Finally, this work opens new avenues for exploration, underscoring the need to investigate the evolving paradigm of trust in the context of BT.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature on the DApp ecosystem by conducting an empirical investigation on a DApp’s impact on the transparency, traceability and efficiency of an entire supply chain. Currently, there is limited research available that measures the level of efficiency and effectiveness that can be attained through stakeholder participation in a DApp network.

As outsourcing and globalization increase the number of supply chain participants, a collaborative product development will enable companies to speed up the decision-making of supply chains of trusted partners, employees, suppliers, and customers. The first phase of new product development is conceptual design. Eighty percent of the product development costs are determined during this phase. Due to continuous changes in design projects, delays in product developments are not rare. Thus, a change control workflow is needed among supply chain participants for product development especially for new product development. A distributed change control process applying the principles of configuration management for conceptual design is therefore proposed. A baseline of inter-document relationship is utilized to maintain the consistence of design documents among supply chain participants. With the proposed distributed change control process, the intervention resources are reduced and the quality of conceptual designs are increased

In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based framework involving a traceability system for product recall (TSPR) designed to develop a traceability system integrated into the product recall system deployed to the Ethereum to ensure the transparency and visibility of the recall process for all stakeholders. The proposed system incorporates all four stakeholders, including supply chain (SC) participants, the food safety regulatory system, the admin, and end customers, into one chain. In the proposed TSPR system, individual components are developed to provide primarily product traceability events, product recall data and status, which are stored in the blockchain to authorized stakeholders. Moreover, the entity relationship and activity diagram of the TSPR system are developed. In the experiment, we develop three smart contracts of the TSPR system using Remix IDE running on an Ethereum test network. A scenario of the events of product traceability and recall in the SC is developed. Two criteria are used to test the validation of contracts: the correct operation and measurement of gas costs. The results show the correctness of three smart contracts, thereby ensuring that the stakeholder chain is provided with visibility and transparency primarily for the product recall process. Moreover, the summation of gas costs deployed in the TSPR system in Ethereum Mainnet for the regulator and manufacturer is $30.23 and $111.54, respectively. However, when using the Polygon Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the gas cost remains $0.022 and $0.083, respectively; thus, we recommend this system for stakeholders to help them achieve lower costs and increased economic worth.

For supply chain optimization, as a key determinant of strategic resources mobility along the value-added chain, simulation is widely used to test the impact on supply chain performance for the strategic level decisions, such as the number of plants, the modes of transport, or the relocation of warehouses. Traditionally, a single centralized model that encompasses multiple participants in the supply chain is built when optimization of the supply chain through simulation is required. However, due to the heterogeneity of supply chain, a centralized simulation model has a limit to reflect the dynamics of each supply chain participant. This research focuses on the conceptual and the technical issues about the supply chain simulation with a parallel and distributed simulation (PADS) concept. In particular, to ensure the decomposition of supply chain simulation model by each supply chain participant, the simulation framework is proposed using Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) in e-collaboration environment. For a clear proof of concept, the virtual supply chain simulation model is implemented and experienced using business process modeling tools in SOA. Due to the reusable, interoperable, and scalable characteristics of the proposed supply chain simulation framework, various alternatives for supply chin optimization can be generated and evaluated.

The article focuses on the project to develop a supply chain management information system using a digital twin for the maritime transport chain. Digital twins reflect real objects and processes in a virtual environment, which enables analysis, modelling and optimisation of supply chain operations. The author describes the main stages of the project, including requirements definition, system architecture development, implementation and testing. Particular attention is paid to the benefits of using digital twins in supply chain management, such as increased efficiency, reduced risk and improved forecasting. The results of the study show the potential of digital twins to optimise supply chain management and increase the competitiveness of companies. The article presents an approach to building a new model of interaction and systematic optimisation of business processes based on digital technologies at all stages of supply chain formation, which ensures the creation of a digital twin for the maritime transport chain. In order to improve supply chains, a digital twin has been proposed, which opens up great prospects for the management of logistics processes and the exchange of information between supply chain participants. This paper presents a framework for an integral Digital Supply Chain Twin (DSCT) capable of covering the entire transport chain. The proposed information system based on the use of the DSCT provides a number of improvements throughout the supply chain, as well as the ability to model and evaluate different scenarios for the supply chain. This creates opportunities to reduce the cost of organising and coordinating transport, improve the quality of transport and logistics services and make them more reliable by identifying potential problems at an early stage. The article analyses the main information technologies that facilitate the use of DSCT as a useful and reliable tool.

Nowadays, getting substantial results for problems in operations research is crucial. The transportation problem can be solved very effectively with Vogel's Approximation Method (VAM) and discover a workable solution that is closer to the ideal solution. The basic principle of VAM is to allocate as many resources as possible to the cell with the smallest cost in the column or row with the greatest penalty. This cell will receive the maximum number of resources. A problem arises when the magnitudes of the least cost and the next-least cost are identical. Then, we devised a new method called the "New Vogel's Approximation Method (NVAM)" to provide a workable solution to the transportation problem that may then be used to determine the optimal solution. Transporting capacity to the required location is done by three distinct companies. The supply chain's participants seek to move their goods from warehouse to distribution centre, from plant to warehouse, and from distribution centre to retail store. In this study, the VAM method and the NVAM approach are used to determine the optimal transportation cost. These techniques are examined to provide potential supply chain management techniques.

Halal Supply Chain Management requires an assurance that the entire process of procurement, distribution, handling, and processing materials, spare parts, livestock, work-in-process, or finished inventory to be well documented and performed fit to the Halal and Toyyib. Blockchain technology is one alternative solution that can improve Halal Supply Chain as it can integrate technology for information exchange during the tracking and tracing process in operating and monitoring performance. This technology could improve trust, transparency, and information disclosure between supply chain participants since it could act as a distributed ledger and entitle all transactions to be completely open, yet confidential, immutable, and secured. This study uses a Blockchain Network with three channels and uses raft consensus algorithm in designing web interfaces and testing their capabilities. From the web interface, there were no failures in the validity test during the invoke test and the query test. In addition, the web interface was also successfully tested to thwart the formation of a block in case of data input errors from the user. The server can also do the process as a provider of information and validator for the web interface. From the results of simulations conducted on the Blockchain Network that was made, Blockchain’s transaction speed is fast and all the transaction is successfully transferred to other peers. Thus, Permissioned Blockchain is useful for Halal Supply Chain not just because it can secure transactions from some of the halal issues, but the transaction speed and rate to transfer data are very effective.

Purpose In today’s intensely fiercely contested market, supply chain participants emphasize enhancing channel quality to attract and retain customers. As channel quality becomes a strategic differentiator, understanding its role in supply chain dynamics is increasingly vital. Design/methodology/approach This study develops a competitive supply chain model involving two manufacturers, two retailers and one online platform, explicitly incorporating channel quality as a strategic decision variable. The manufacturers select one of three contract types to sell their products: exclusive partnerships with individual retailers, fully nonexclusive partnerships with both retailers and hybrid non-exclusive partnerships involving individual retailers and a common online platform. Customer demand in each channel is modeled as a function of selling price and channel quality. A Nash game framework determines the optimal strategic decisions of all supply chain participants under each contractual scenario. Findings The results indicate that when supply chain members compete to sell the same product, they are compelled to offer higher levels of channel quality to remain competitive. Furthermore, participants engaged in nonexclusive contractual arrangements consistently outperform those in exclusive agreements in terms of profitability. Manufacturers can enhance their profits by adopting a hybrid nonexclusive strategy combining retail and online platform channels, rather than relying solely on traditional retail distribution. Originality/value The study is novel in its integration of channel quality as a central element in supply chain competition and in expanding nonexclusive contracts to include both online and offline sales channels. This dual-platform approach provides deeper insights into modern supply chain strategies in a multichannel retail environment.