AgriDigital Featured in CSIRO’s Data61 Strategic Foresight Report

7 June 2017

CSIRO’s Data61 released their report on distributed ledger technology (also referred to as blockchain), representing a landmark moment in how Australia is approaching blockchain as a nation.

This highly anticipated report was commissioned by the Federal Treasury in 2016 as a strategic exploration of how Australia can ensure it is well positioned to take advantage of the efficiencies of the new technology. The report finds that capitalising on Australia’s strong position in the space, will allow us to press ahead as a global leader in the commercial adoption of technologies like Blockchain and reshape existing industries. These findings have significant implications for financial institutions and legacy systems, as well as startups as they continue experimenting in this space.

The report is divided into two publications; the first is an introduction to distributed ledger technology, which outlines trends in the global development of the technology and the considerations to take into account when implementing distributed ledger based solutions.

The second report, entitled “Risks and opportunities for systems using blockchain and smart contracts”, is a detailed technical overview of blockchain. The report identifies three areas where blockchain is highly applicable as a driver of potential efficiencies and benefits: supply chain, government data registries and payments.

AgriDigital’s leadership in bringing blockchain to the agricultural supply chain is recognized in the second report (page 13) and in the official media release from Data61. The report highlights the 2016 AgriDigital blockchain pilot, the first ever commercial transaction of a physical agri commodity on a blockchain worldwide.

AgriDigital’s CEO, Emma Weston said “These reports represent a line in the sand for how we are approaching blockchain as a nation and as a technology community. We agree with the selected use case focus and are thrilled to have been included in the development of the report. At AgriDigital we are focused on how we can drive efficiency and transparency across our agri-supply chains, and we believe blockchain is a large part of this.”

Blockchain can enable more efficient and secure payment for agricultural commodities and goods, improve supply chain liquidity and financing and create paddock to plate transparency. “Ultimately, we need to deploy blockchain to a network of businesses and users to achieve the promised benefits,” said Weston, “this year AgriDigital will be working in collaboration with others to show how these benefits can be realised”.

For more information and to access the reports click here.