Taming price vagaries through blockchain technology: An application in perishable commodities

Abstract

Disruptive supply chain has always resulted in uncertain structure of price movements of crops, particularly the quickly perishable crops. Over many years, the steep fluctuation of prices was only intervened with momentary measures but it demands a permanent solution for the maximum benefits at supply and demand points. This study examines the nature of abnormal price volatility of perishable agricultural produce, especially with onions and aims to analyse the opportunities to strengthen the same by gaining deep insights into supply chain efficiencies with the help of blockchain technology. It takes the support of diffusion of innovation theory and reveals the spread of internet and smart phone usage in rural India after Covid-19. Data for the study were collected from the earlier research articles, research reports, newspaper articles and electronic data published by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Both descriptive and analytical methods were employed to answer the research questions. According to the findings, blockchain technology aids in the analysis about where and how the fresh product spends time with inventory flow, mean holding time, time-since-harvest, and less wastage for a more sustainable farming ecosystem.