Food is our common ground, a universal experience. - James Beard

Remember the last time you had salads, the fried chicken at your family outing, the long-grained rice that you prefer, healthy-looking fruits from the fresh mart, or a delicacy at a fancy restaurant? You probably remember it, the food item must have tasted good or you might remember it probably because you might have had a good time with your loved ones during the meal. But have you ever wondered about the provenance of the various food that you consume? Was your food really safe and healthy just like the seller advertised it to be? Most probably not.

Even if you were curious, in the present Nepalese agriculture market, a concerned consumer has no reliable means to trace back the inputs used in the process. In addition to this, a typical agri-supply chain involves a complex interconnected process between various stakeholders such as farmers, warehouses, transporters, wholesalers, retailers. So it becomes near impossible for a consumer to inspect and verify the factors that determine the safety of the food they consume.

Now, imagine a system that records and tracks all the information of a plant from its production to delivery, where to obtain that recorded information, all the customer has to do is scan the QR code present on the product package. The idea is a game-changer. With such an ideal solution, a customer will have easy access to all the information regarding the product which will help the customer to determine if the product is fit for him/her or not before actually buying the product.

Keeping this in mind, our team at eSatya has come up with a blockchain-based solution, AgriClear, an agri-supply management tool. which records and tracks all the information of a plant from its production to its delivery while ensuring safe agricultural practice. The recorded information is stored in a blockchain, this enhances the security so that none of the stakeholders involved would be able to tamper the data. This concept of AgriClear was able to bag the first position in UNCDF's Nepal AgriTech Challenge. 

AgriClear is here to revolutionize the current agri-supply here are five ways AgriClear will revolutionize the Nepalese agricultural scene. 

1. Making the entire agriculture process transparent.Under AgriClear, a farmer will have to record all of the important information and steps involved during the process of production. He will have to back it up taking a photo as evidence. Similarly, other stakeholders involved in the process such as warehousing, processing, transporting, whole selling will have to record their part,
2. Ensuring good agricultural practice.When all of the steps are recorded and then made transparent to the parties involved. Different stakeholders like farmers, cold storage operators, transporters, middlemen, etc are more likely to follow the good agricultural practice.
3. Creating a unique identity of agricultural productsIn Nepal, agricultural products lack branding. When there is involvement of good agricultural practice which is then systematically updated and made transparent. Then the product will stand out from the rest of the products. This will provide the product with a unique identity.
4. Easy availability of insurance and finance to the stakeholders.When farmers and other stakeholders have immutable records of good agricultural practices, insurance companies and financial institutions will be more likely to provide them with their services This will significantly lower the risk that the farmers have to undertake. On the other hand, insurance companies and financial institutions will be able to remotely inspect agricultural practices. This will save valuable time and resources of these institutions.
5. Creating a trust-building economy.Agriculture is a complex process, there are many stakeholders involved in this process. And unfortunately, none of the parties involved trust one another. AgriClear will make all of the parties accountable for their actions. The accountability will help to establish trust among the stakeholders.

Once consumers are used to AgriClear, they will probably be more cautious and curious about the products they consume. This will ultimately impact the buying behavior of the consumers. Cheaper and unhealthy imports will no longer dominate the Nepalese market. This concept will become a game-changer in the Nepalese agricultural scene promoting and awarding good agricultural practices.