In the era of Industry 4.0, blockchain technology is touted as a means to trace the origin of agricultural products, helping local firms improve productivity and competitive capacity, heard a conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on July 3.

The Mekong Delta region is the largest agricultural production hub in Vietnam, but the value of agricultural products remains below expectations due to technical barriers in terms of quality in export markets.

As Vietnam deeply into the global economy, its products must satisfy rigorous standards to gain footholds in markets at home and abroad. 

According to Nguyen Phuong Lam, Vice Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s Can Tho city branch, loose links between farmers and businesses poses challenges for product traceability and production process.

Blockchain technology can boost the transparency of information about agricultural products, while tracking of product’s origin will help gain consumers’ confidence, increasing product value.

Vu Truong Ca, President of Lina Network, one of the companies researching the use of blockchain technology in agriculture, said that producers must meet traceability requirements and prove their products are safe to bolster shipments.

“Customers need standardisation and transparency, and this is the attribute of blockchain”, he said.

Blockchain stores and transmits information and data by blocks linked together. No one can modify information stored via blockchain. Besides transparency, blockchain helps cut the cost of product origin management while enhancing security. 

It is now applied in 26 sectors including agriculture, healthcare, transportation and administration management.