Alipay operator Ant Financial has partnered with
pharmaceutical giant Bayer Crop Science, Monsanto’s owner, to develop a
blockchain solution for the food and crop industry.
Letter of intent
Enterprise blockchain news outlet Ledger Insights reported
on the partnership on Sept. 26, also noting that the two firms signed a
letter of intent to develop their solution to increase traceability and
transparency. Per the report, the initiative was announced at this
week’s Apsara Conference in Hangzhou, China.
Ant Financial also
reportedly informed the public that it intends to extend its partnership
with Hyperledger to work on interoperability, standards and blockchain
applications. According to the report’s author, the firm’s Blockchain as
a Service (BaaS) offering supports both its own platform and
Hyperledger’s Fabric.
Monsanto to use blockchain?
Bayer,
while being best known as a pharmaceutical giant, also acquired United
States-based agrochemical company Monsanto for $63 million last year. An
Ant Financial representative better illustrated the scope of the
initiative:
“[The aim of the partnership is to] create
comprehensive, blockchain-based solutions designed to bring greater
transparency to improve food safety and the efficiency of agricultural
supply chains.”
According to the report, agriculture
“is now one of over 40 applications of Ant’s blockchain technology” and
the firm also has initiatives in supply chain finance and rice
traceability among others.
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