Inspiration
We were inspired to do something about the farmer suicide crisis in India. Through research, we realized that although the issue is a complex one, one of the factors influencing it greatly is that the farmers being cheated with low prices by the middlemen, who make enormous profits. We concluded that if we brought more transparency to the supply chain, the farmer would be more informed about the prices his/her crop should yield, and thereby increase his/her income. Price transparency on the supply chain would also incentivize honest middlemen to use our product, as they stand to increase profits by publicly showing that they provide a competitive price for crops.
What it does
Kisan is an ERC-721 token that is pegged to a specific crate of produce. For example, a farmer fills our crate (with a QR code attached to it) with their produce. They then scan the QR code on the crate from within the Kisan App, which lets them mint a new Kisan token with properties such as 'name of the produce', 'weight', 'price' etc. The value of that Kisan token is pegged to the value of the produce in the crate. The distributor who buys the 'token' (or crate) from the farmer pays the amount specified, and the token changes ownership. This process continues throughout the supply chain until the crate reaches the customer. When the crate's seal is broken, the 'token' is burned, as the crate no more has a value. Anyone in the supply chain can track where the 'token' has been by looking up the address of the 'token' on a block explorer.
How we built it
Build is a work in progress. We used OpenZeppelin's libraries to create the ERC-721 token. Truffle's tools to deploy it on the test blockchain. Web3.js to test accounts and transfer ownership of tokens.
Challenges we ran into
We started to focus on building the product too early. We then had to make significant changes to the design late on Saturday. As far as our product goes, we think that there needs to be a central authority to check if the farmer is selling what they claim on the Kisan token. Once the box is sealed, there is no way to verify the quality of the produce that's inside.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of creating total transparency within the agricultural supply chain. This transparency translates to a more competitive market within the supply chain which, in turn, will increase profit margins of small farmers.
What we learned
How to work with a team ERC-721 specifics Deploying Dapps India's broken Agricultural system
What's next for Kisan
Finish building the ERC-721 token. Prove the concept by doing a pilot program.
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