The Brussels Development Briefing n. 55 on "Opportunities of blockchain for agriculture" organised by CTA, the European Commission/EuropeAid, the ACP Secretariat, Concord and BMZ was held on 15th May 2019 (9h00-13h00) at the ACP Secretariat, Avenue Georges Henri 451, 1200 Brussels, Room C.

1. BLOCKCHAIN LEGISLATION
THE CASE OF UGANDA

2. BACKGROUND OF THE UGANDA AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Agriculture is fundamental to Uganda’s economy,
contributing 26% to GDP and employing about 70% of the
population (Deloitte, 2017). Despite its huge potential,
Uganda’s agricultural sector remains stifled by a number
of challenges. It is still largely traditional, of subsistence
and highly dependent on natural conditions such as
rainfall and sunshine.

3. CURRENT STATUS
 Today, technology presents an opportunity to
transform agriculture through Commercialization,
Aggregation, and Agri-business. Technology can
ensure efficient operation of the value chain
activities from production to processing, logistics,
warehousing; access to finance, increasing access to
market information for better decision making.

4. BLOCKCHAIN IN UGANDA
 Uganda is experiencing a lot of growth in the blockchain
industry.
 Pockets of blockchain innovation are fast springing up in
innovation hubs across the country, as the public and private
sector alike seek effective new systems of record with trust
embedded.
 The use of Blockchain technologies could more than double
production which could raise the per capita income and bring
Uganda closer to middle income status

5. BLOCKCHAIN IN AGRICULTURE
 Blockchain technology is well suited to provide traceability of products. It
makes it possible to know with high confidence, the origin, storage and
expiration date of the product.
 Startups like Avenews-Gti, a decentralized ecosystem for agricultural
trade, provide a digital trading platform based on blockchain technology. It
connects food wholesalers to food producers without third parties or
middlemen, reducing distribution costs, creating financial security, and
providing chain transparency.
 Social network blockchain company, FaceCoin, offers a smart futures
contract platform that helps farmers and the unbanked on the continent
through token offerings. Food Asset Coin Eco-System, as the program is
called, allows investors to issue tokens to African farmers which can be
used to purchase fertilizer products.

6. BLOCKCHAIN IN AGRICULTURE
 Carico Café Connoisseur , a Ugandan company has started
using blockchain, to certify shipments of coffee to try to meet
growing demand from consumers for more information about
where products have come from.
 Carico Café Connoisseur is helping to boost farmers’ incomes,
as consumers are usually prepared to pay more for goods that
can been traced back to their origins.
 Major benefits , transparent , tamperproof and easy to track
goods along the supply chain

7. BLOCKCHAIN IN AGRICULTURE
 The newest entrant is a revolutionary project led by a
London listed company, Block Commodities (NEX: BLCC) is
deploying Blockchain to create an ecosystem designed to
help farmers access agriculture finance.

8. PARTNERSHIP WITH PURE GROW AFRICA
 Block Commodities is partnering with Pure Grow Africa, a
leading supplier of high-quality agricultural produce (dry
edible beans) based in Uganda, supporting the
development of the blockchain-powered ecosystem which
lies at the core of its mission to help Africa grow.

9.  The scheme will benefit 1000 smallholder farmers
selected by Pure Grow to integrate Block’s blockchain
ecosystem. The farmers will be given cryptocurrency loan
with which to purchase fertilizer and they will start
repayments only after harvesting.
 Access to fertilizers and seeds could double the income
of smallholder farmers which could raise the per capita
income.

10. BLOCKCHAIN AND POLICY
 In the past year the country has hosted various blockchain
conferences, various blockchain associations and
communities with a lot of support from government at
Cabinet level.

11.  Uganda has shown her interest in the blockchain
technology and the propensity towards it was
displayed during the Africa Blockchain Conference
of 2018 where both the President and ICT Minister
endorsed the idea of working out means to exploit
the technology.

12.  Even without regulations in place, most of the
blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies are
not facing much resistance from regulators in
Uganda, unlike in most countries across the
continent.

13.  The government is in the process of developing policy
guidelines and encouraging industries to utilize the
technology.
 The government of Uganda, spear headed by the Ministry of
ICT has moved to constitute a ‘National Blockchain
Taskforce” to come up with a policy to streamline the use of
blockchain.
 It is anticipated that after the policy has been crafted,
adequate legislation will be enacted to augment the policy
framework

14.  The government is also in the process of introducing tax
mechanisms and incentives that encourage the private
sector to invest in blockchain. This would open up new
opportunities for public-private partnership.

15.  The government is also availing education and training
opportunities to build the necessary manpower, and more
investment in new start ups to support their growth and in
return boost the economy.

16. ECO SYSTEM SUPPORTING BLOCKCHAIN IN AGRICULTURE
 Land registration on the blockchain
 Blockchain Finance

17. FUTURE OF BLOCKCHAIN IN AGRICULTURE
 The future of blockchain on the continent is quite
optimistic.
 For Uganda to maximize its full potential of the use of
blockchain technology, support and collaboration is
needed within the whole eco-system, including but not
limited to investment capital, multi-stakeholder
collaboration at national and continent level, development
of regulatory standards and codes of conduct,
enabling/training talent, support for the role of incubators,
innovation hubs, educational institutions etc.

18. THANK YOU
ALICE NAMULI BLAZEVIC