Study On a Blockchain Framework Of Agriculture Information Sharing In Tanzania Using Solidity Technology

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The United Republic of Tanzania, covering an area of 947,300 square kilometers, is ranked as the 23rd largest country globally and the 13th largest in Africa. Its population density is around 62 individuals per square kilometer, with a total population of over 64,363,425 people. It is worth noting that rural regions account for 64% of the population. Despite its vast potential in the agricultural sector, Tanzania remains classified as a Low-Income Food-Deficit Country. Moreover, partly attributed to the limited knowledge possessed by small-scale farmers in rural areas, including inadequate market information (such as prices and selling points), little understanding of reliable input sources (e.g., seeds and chemicals), insufficient knowledge of meteorological data (including rainfall patterns and climate change), and ignorance of crop insurance programs. This paper investigates the flow of information within Tanzania's agriculture sector. It proposes using blockchain technology to bridge the information gap and provide small-scale farmers with the required knowledge to boost agricultural production. This thesis aims to address the problem of inadequate flow of information between agriculture stakeholders in Tanzania by developing an agriculture information-sharing system using blockchain technology. The current methods for sharing agriculture information in Tanzania could be more effective and efficient, resulting in a need for more transparency and trust among stakeholders. This problem affects the entire agriculture value chain, leading to low productivity, poor market access, and limited growth opportunities. Therefore, blockchain technology offers a potential solution to this problem by improving the transparency and accountability of information sharing among stakeholders. This research will investigate the feasibility, challenges, and potential benefits of developing an agriculture information-sharing framework using Etherium-Solidity blockchain technology in Tanzania. The study uses a mixed-methodologies approach, incorporating qualitative and quantitative data gathering and analysis methods. The findings of this study will contribute to developing a sustainable and efficient agriculture information-sharing framework in Tanzania, which could improve the livelihoods of farmers, traders, and other actors in the agriculture value chain. This thesis aims to develop an agriculture information-sharing framework in Tanzania using blockchain technology. The framework aims to improve the dissemination of agriculture-related information to small-scale farmers in rural areas, such as market prices, weather forecasts, and farming techniques. The research questions addressed in this thesis include the feasibility of using blockchain technology in agriculture, the key factors contributing to poor communication between small-scale farmers and agriculture system stakeholders in rural Tanzania, and how they can be addressed to improve information flow. How can digital technologies be leveraged to improve information flow between small-scale farmers and agriculture system stakeholders in Tanzania? What key considerations are needed when designing such solutions? The research methods include a literature review, stakeholder interviews, and field experiments. The findings suggest the blockchain-based system can provide secure and transparent information sharing, increase the agricultural supply chain's efficiency, and improve small-scale farmers' livelihoods. The thesis concludes by discussing the implications of the research for agriculture and blockchain technology in Tanzania and elsewhere.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 9
• 1. Problem Statement 10
• 2. Objective 11
• 2.1 Sub-objectives 11
• 2.2 Research questions 12
• 3. Significance of the Study. 12
• 3,1 Academics 13
• 3.2 Community 13
• 3.3 Nation 13
• II. LITERATURE REVIEW 14
• 1. Agricultural Policies 14
• 2. Factors Affecting Agriculture 15
• 2.1 Climate Factors 15
• 2.2 Biological Factors 16
• 2.3 Technological factors 17
• 3. Agricultural Information 18
• 3.1 Effect of lack of information on farmers 25
• 3.2 Advantage of Information Flow in Agriculture. 25
• 3,3 Improving information flow 27
• 4. Agricultural Economy 29
• 5. Role of ICT in Agriculture 30
• 6. Role of Technology in Agriculture 31
• 6.1 AI in Agriculture 31
• 6.2 IoT in Agriculture 33
• 6.3 GIS in Agriculture 34
• 6.4 Technology system Criteria 35
• 7. Blockchain Technology in Agriculture 42
• 7.1 A public blockchain 43
• 7.2 A Private Blockchain 44
• 7.3 A Consortium blockchain 45
• 7.4 A Hybrid blockchain 45
• 7.5 Blockchain in Information Flow 46
• 7.6 Blockchain in Agriculture 47
• 8. Agriculture Marketing 48
• 9. Crop insurance and its type 50
• III. Methodology 52
• 1. Research Design 52
• 2. Population Sample space 54
• 3. DATA 55
• 3.1 Data Collection Methodology: 55
• 3.2 Data Analysis: 55
• 3.3 Methods 55
• 4. Considerations and Ethics 55
• IV. System Implementation Proposal 57
• 1. Current system 57
• 1.1 Information flow of the current system 58
• 1.2 Current system analysis 59
• 2. Technology comparison 72
• 2.1 Level one criteria analysis 73
• 2.2 Level two criteria analysis 75
• 2.3 General analysis of the AHP table above 82
• 3. Proposed Framework 83
• 3.1 Architecture 85
• 3.2 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) 90
• 3.3 Solidity 90
• 3.1 Web3 91
• 3.1 Ganache 93
• 3.2 Proposed contract 95
• 4. Framework Implementation 99
• 4.1 Farmer’s Page flow 99
• 4.2 Customer’s Page flow 100
• 5. Validation 109
• V. Discussion 111
• 1. Conclusion 113
• 2. Limitations of the study 113
• 3. Recommendation for further studies 115
• VI. REFERENCES 117
• APPENDICES. 128
• ACTION PLAN 128