Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approach

Context: Achieving zero hunger through food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable agriculture is one of the global agendas. Thus, the quality of seeds is important for ensuring sustainable food security, making seed certification critically important. However, classical seed certification sy...

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Main Authors: Deo Shao, Nyankomo Marwa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Smart Agricultural Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375524002569
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author Deo Shao
Nyankomo Marwa
author_facet Deo Shao
Nyankomo Marwa
author_sort Deo Shao
collection DOAJ
description Context: Achieving zero hunger through food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable agriculture is one of the global agendas. Thus, the quality of seeds is important for ensuring sustainable food security, making seed certification critically important. However, classical seed certification systems are predominantly paper-based with limited digitisation. These systems, even digitised, are often centralised, and they face challenges related to transparency, traceability, and integrity. Objective: This study aims to investigate the practicality of blockchain technology in revitalising transparency, traceability, and integrity in the seed certification process. Methods: This study used a Design Science Research (DSR) approach to design and test a blockchain-based smart contract to improve the seed certification process. Within the DSR framework, the study used literature review and evolutionary prototyping to establish the requirements and design the prototype. Results and conclusions: The findings demonstrate the practical application of blockchain technology in improving aspects of transparency and integrity in the seed certification process. The findings further underscore that smart contracts can be leveraged efficiently to automate and enhance the seed certification process. The findings provide evidence-based frameworks for decision-makers and practitioners to justify the prioritisation of blockchain technology in designing future sustainable agricultural systems. Future studies should investigate how blockchain-based systems for seed certification can be scaled and integrated with existing agricultural systems. Significance: This study provides both theoretical and practical contributions on application of blockchain technology in the domain of seed supply chain. Specifically, it provides a comprehensive account of the design aspects of blockchain system in the seed certification process.
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spelling doaj-art-a0e9f322c34e4ca0a5ae34f88f443c5a2024-12-13T11:08:12ZengElsevierSmart Agricultural Technology2772-37552024-12-019100651Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approachDeo Shao0Nyankomo Marwa1Corresponding author.; Johannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South AfricaJohannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South AfricaContext: Achieving zero hunger through food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable agriculture is one of the global agendas. Thus, the quality of seeds is important for ensuring sustainable food security, making seed certification critically important. However, classical seed certification systems are predominantly paper-based with limited digitisation. These systems, even digitised, are often centralised, and they face challenges related to transparency, traceability, and integrity. Objective: This study aims to investigate the practicality of blockchain technology in revitalising transparency, traceability, and integrity in the seed certification process. Methods: This study used a Design Science Research (DSR) approach to design and test a blockchain-based smart contract to improve the seed certification process. Within the DSR framework, the study used literature review and evolutionary prototyping to establish the requirements and design the prototype. Results and conclusions: The findings demonstrate the practical application of blockchain technology in improving aspects of transparency and integrity in the seed certification process. The findings further underscore that smart contracts can be leveraged efficiently to automate and enhance the seed certification process. The findings provide evidence-based frameworks for decision-makers and practitioners to justify the prioritisation of blockchain technology in designing future sustainable agricultural systems. Future studies should investigate how blockchain-based systems for seed certification can be scaled and integrated with existing agricultural systems. Significance: This study provides both theoretical and practical contributions on application of blockchain technology in the domain of seed supply chain. Specifically, it provides a comprehensive account of the design aspects of blockchain system in the seed certification process.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375524002569Seed certificationBlockchain technologyFood securitySupply chainSmart contracts
spellingShingle Deo Shao
Nyankomo Marwa
Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approach
Smart Agricultural Technology
Seed certification
Blockchain technology
Food security
Supply chain
Smart contracts
title Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approach
title_full Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approach
title_fullStr Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approach
title_full_unstemmed Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approach
title_short Blockchain-enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency: A design science approach
title_sort blockchain enabled smart contracts for enhancing seed certification transparency a design science approach
topic Seed certification
Blockchain technology
Food security
Supply chain
Smart contracts
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375524002569
work_keys_str_mv AT deoshao blockchainenabledsmartcontractsforenhancingseedcertificationtransparencyadesignscienceapproach
AT nyankomomarwa blockchainenabledsmartcontractsforenhancingseedcertificationtransparencyadesignscienceapproach