Blockchain-powered Traceability Platform TraceX Partners with Ghanaian Agritech Firm Univision to Offer Traceability in the Agri Supply Chain

TraceX Technologies, a blockchain-powered traceability platform that enhances food and supply chain transparency, has forayed into Africa by partnering with Ghana-based agritech consulting firm Univision to offer end-to-end traceability in the agriculture supply chain.

Through this partnership, TraceX and Univision will bring the entire agriculture ecosystem under one platform. From smallholder farmers in Ghana to financial institutions that provide loans to farmers, all members of the agri supply chain will be able to interact and transact under one platform.

Univision Consultancy Ltd offers Ag-Tech Consulting, Agribusiness Mapping, Export Aggregator, and Business Support Services to clients both in Ghana and abroad. As a part of its consulting services, they help agribusinesses in Ghana with the right Ag-tech platforms that would assist them to reduce their cost, improve their operational activities and also improve their yield per acre of their farms. Similarly, as a part of their agribusiness mapping services, they bring several smallholder farmers (cooperatives) together to cultivate a certain farm produce, link them to input companies and financial institutions who can support these farmers with inputs like quality seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, provide loans to the farmers, etc and finally, they assist them to market for their produce.

Commenting on the partnership, Isaac Ampiaw, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Univision, said, “One of the main reasons we chose to work with TraceX is that they enable us to bring all the key stakeholders of the ecosystem together under one digital platform. Additionally, they offer an offline and online model of communication that allows smallholder farmers to easily communicate with other members of the supply chain. We look forward to working closely with TraceX to offer end-to-end traceability in the agri supply chain”. 

TraceX’s digital traceability solution offers the following advantages

• Ensure consistent quality in produce: TraceX’s platform offers a crop database with a set of predefined package of practices to achieve quality yield
• Single source of information: TraceX’s technology brings multiple stakeholders onto a single platform to enable the exchange and verification of auditable data.
• Builds trust and transparency: TraceX provides credibility to claims and offers complete provenance of the produce through a quick scan of the QR code
• Maintain regulatory compliance: The farmers have to upload authentication certificates to meet regulatory compliances. The data recorded at each step of the supply chain helps satisfy all regulatory requirements.

Commenting on the partnership, Srivatsa Sreenivasarao, Co-Founder and CEO, TraceX, said, “ Africa is a key geography for us because of the strong growth opportunities that exist for agribusinesses. Supply chain digitization has a lot of potential, particularly in West Africa, and we are happy to partner with Univision to tap into this opportunity. End-to-end digitization enables traceability, which in turn increases opportunities for smallholder farmers and improves their access to capital"

About Univision

Univision Consultancy was established in January, 2018 with the main aim of carrying out Ag-Tech Consulting, Agribusiness Mapping, Export Aggregator and Business Support Services to clients ranging from large corporations to individuals both in Ghana and abroad. Unlike being a traditional business advisory services provider, Univision Consultancy focuses on an innovative approach to help its clients reach their export potential as quickly as possible.

Website: https://univisionconsult.com/

About TraceX

TraceX is a next generation digital agriculture platform that leverages blockchain to connect multiple participants across the food and agri supply chain and help them securely exchange verifiable and auditable data leading to mutual trust, accountability, traceability and transparency amongst the participating actors.

Their solution enables farmers, producer organizations, aggregators, food processors, insurance providers, credit providers, logistics providers, buyers etc to exchange information with mutual trust via a permissioned blockchain digital ledger enabling each one to prove transparency, traceability and provenance of the claims. Farmers, Processors, Procurement folks use their multilingual mobile application and others use web-based applications to interact with the system.

Website: https://tracextech.com/

TraceX’s Blockchain-powered Platform To Offer ‘Bean to Cup’ Traceability for Coffee Produced by 3500 Farmers in Araku Valley

TraceX announces partnership with international non-profit TechnoServe

As a part of the partnership, TraceX’s blockchain-powered platform will offer ‘bean to cup’ traceability for coffee produced by 3500 farmers in Araku Valley

TraceX Technologies, a blockchain-powered traceability platform that enhances food and supply chain transparency, has partnered with international non-profit TechnoServe, to offer end-to-end digital traceability for coffee produced by 3500 farmers in Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh. Through this partnership with TraceX, TechnoServe can provide their partner brands Blue Tokai and Humble beans the ability to track and record the journey of coffee through every stage of the production process, from bean to cup.

As a part of the ‘Sustainable Livelihoods for Smallholder Farmers’ program, grant-funded by the Walmart Foundation, TechnoServe currently works with 4000 farmers through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) spread across 355 villages in the Araku Valley. Most of these farmers strictly follow organic farming due to which their yield capacity is much lower than their counterparts in Karnataka. Over the years, TechnoServe has assisted the farmers with agronomy training, building visibility, increasing coffee productivity, managing post-harvest, and providing the necessary market linkages. To further improve their livelihoods, TechnoServe has partnered with TraceX to ensure consistency in the quality of coffee produced, thus resulting in improved market linkage for the farmers.

Earlier in late last month, for the first time in the history of Jharkhand state seed distribution among farmers has been initiated well ahead of the arrival of the Kharif season, which was made possible by using Blockchain-based seed traceability platform.    

The TraceX’s solution to TechnoServe is a perfect example of seeing Blockchain Traceability in action. A connected supply chain with transparency across the multi-stakeholders is the need of the hour and that is being realized with TraceX's Blockchain traceability platform.

TechnoServe uses the pre-harvest module to track the first mile connectivity of the coffee value chain. This is followed by the onboarding of Blue Tokai, Humble Beans and Slay Coffee clients onto the same blockchain network to track the post-harvest processes and generate a QR code product identity for consumer engagement. A seamless integration of all the stakeholders on a collaborative platform in the supply chain, building trustworthy and authentic customer brands.

TraceX’s digital traceability solution offers the following advantages -

• Ensure consistent quality in produce: TraceX’s platform offers a crop database with a set of predefined package of practices to achieve quality yield.
• Builds trust among consumers: TraceX provides credibility to claims, offers complete provenance of the product through a quick scan of the QR code, and makes the brand stand out by providing verifiable and authentic information to the customers.
• Maintain regulatory compliance: The farmers have to upload authentication certificates to meet regulatory compliances. The data recorded at each step of the supply chain helps satisfy all regulatory requirements.
• Increases visibility for the farmers: TraceX creates a digital identity for the farmer’s product and allows the consumer to know the story and the people behind their coffee.
• Single source of information: Prior to TraceX, for any query related to the produce, the farmers were the only source of information. The middlemen, government agencies and all other stakeholders had to rely entirely on the farmer. This created a lot of fatigue among the farmers to constantly share relevant information. Through TraceX, all this information is now available on the blockchain.

Furthermore, TraceX’s platform brings to the fore some of the regenerative and ecologically friendly farming practices followed by the farmers.

Sandesh Deranna, Crop Lead- Coffee Value Chain, TechnoServe, said, “TechnoServe’s program ‘Sustainable Livelihoods for Smallholder Farmers’, grant-funded by the Walmart Foundation, is aimed at improving the lives of smallholder farmers in Andhra Pradesh by establishing sustainable, locally-led systems and processes for FPOs and promoting good agriculture practices and post-harvest management practices among the FPO shareholders. In order to do that, we are always on the lookout for digital tools that will help farmers improve their incomes and build a better future for themselves. TraceX was exactly the solution we were looking for. Through their blockchain-enabled traceability platform, TraceX empowers farmers by giving them more visibility, improving efficiency and profitability, building trust and transparency, leading to a better connect with the end consumers.”

Commenting on the partnership, Srivatsa Sreenivasarao, Co-Founder and CEO, TraceX, said “Traceability allows for a connected supply chain where brands can seamlessly access information about the work done by Farmer Producer Organizations in the pre-harvest stage. It offers transparency and differentiation to each stakeholder in the supply chain.”

“We are thrilled to partner with a brand that has transformed the lives of millions of people in low-income communities. This partnership allows us to create an impact not only on the end consumer but also improve the livelihoods of farmers in the Araku Valley region. We look forward to working together on many more initiatives to create a transparent, ethical, and sustainable supply chain.”, Srivatsa added.

TraceX has a B2B SaaS subscription model where it works with companies across livestock, poultry, seafood, and agri supply chains. The company currently works with 30+ food companies that include prominent names such as Olam, MTR Foods, Slay Coffee, Govt of Telangana, GoDesi, Sam Agri, Milk Mantra and many others.

The company has raised USD 1 million in pre-series A funding led by NABARD backed NABVENTURES Fund. The round also saw participation from Paipal Ventures, an early stage family office investment fund, and from angel investor Sunil Kumar.

About TraceX

TraceX is a next generation digital agriculture platform that leverages blockchain to connect multiple participants across the food and agri supply chain and help them securely exchange verifiable and auditable data leading to mutual trust, accountability, traceability and transparency amongst the participating actors. Their solution enables farmers, producer organizations, aggregators, food processors, insurance providers, credit providers, logistics providers, buyers etc to exchange information with mutual trust via a permissioned blockchain digital ledger enabling each one to prove transparency, traceability and provenance of the claims. Farmers, Processors, Procurement folks use their multilingual mobile application and others use web-based applications to interact with the system.

Website: https://tracextech.com/

About TechnoServe

Founded in 1968, TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty for good. A non-profit organization working in 30 countries, TechnoServe works with people to build a better future through regenerative farms, businesses, and markets that increase incomes. Their vision is a sustainable world where all people in low-income communities have the opportunity to prosper.

Website: https://www.technoserve.org/