Italy and blockchain: “Opportunities for the agri-food industry”

In Italy “The blockchain is a major opportunity for the agri-food sector”, these were the words spoken by the Minister of Agriculture Teresa Bellanova during the conference in Foggia on “Agrifood, blockchain and traceability”.

According to the Minister, the application of blockchain technology in the agricultural supply chain is currently being studied:

“It is no coincidence that the Italian Budget Law only mentions it in relation to agriculture and agrifood. This is an important indication, just like the fact that Crea (Council for Research in Agriculture and Analysis of Agricultural Economics) is also studying this technology, focusing on the search for solutions suitable for crops and Made in Italy products”. 

Even the Italian Ministry for Economic Development is working in this direction and has already presented a blockchain project for the protection of Made in Italy products in the textile sector. 

The intention of Minister Bellanova is to get the two ministries to collaborate:

“We want to work together with the Ministry of Economic Development to test the potential of Blockchain to guarantee the traceability of our products, bringing consumers closer to producers by making every step transparent”.

In her speech, the representative of the Italian government outlined the objectives of the use of Blockchain in the agri-food supply chain:

“Blockchain technology is an important tool and, in the wider context of innovation in agriculture, it must be employed in the best possible way to achieve the real objectives which are: the enhancement of farmers’ income, comprehensive information for citizens and economic, social and environmental sustainability”.

The blockchain could be an important solution for all those citizens and consumers who demand more food safety, traceability, transparency and ultimately greater clarity on the origin of the food that ends up on the table. In this context, blockchain technology can represent an important tool for protecting consumers and Italian products. 

This is precisely what was stressed during the conference: food safety is a consumer’s right. For this reason, it seems clear that the Italian government will rely on blockchain to guarantee it, with the aim of moving towards what has been defined “Agriculture 4.0”, a system based on research, innovation, transparent information, food safety and sustainability.