CropData – a Company on a mission to connect millions of distant farmers to knowledge, markets and essential services, has launched Agriota E-Marketplace today, a technology-driven agri-commodity trading and sourcing platform that uses blockchain to help bridge the gap between millions of rural farmers in India and the food industry globally.
The Agriota platform was jointly developed with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), which is the world's flagship Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise, following the signing of a collaboration agreement during the Hon. Prime Minister of India's state visit to UAE in February 2018.
Agriota E-Marketplace is an advanced agricultural commodities marketplace platform with a range of services for contract, bid, money, entity, accounting, billing, reconciliation, analytics, fraud, risk and compliance management etc. The Agriota ecosystem is a blockchain-based agriculture forward marketplace that uses one of its kind escrow banking system for money management. CropData’s vast infrastructure consists of a network of laboratories spread across 9 states and 49 districts providing the last-mile farmer interface, verification, monitoring and logistics. It’s powered by aggregation, open auction, advance money and variance management tools along with both primary and secondary markets, while providing neutrality, traceability and trust;
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Neutrality: An unbiased system for all counterparties, ensures total transparency and visibility in price discovery, associated costs and unforeseen risks.
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Traceability: End-to-end transparency, from last-mile verification and monitoring to delivery, in a workflow-based blockchain environment.
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Trust: Introducing a proprietary banking system with multi-tier escrow structure for secured money management.
The launch was attended by His Excellency Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to the UAE and focused on how the Agriota platform will positively impact the UAE's food security and economy and the way in which it will also boost trade ties with India
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said: "Harnessing the power of blockchain technologies within the commodity space is a top priority for DMCC, and launching Agriota is the next natural step in this journey. The UAE has a significant history with India, and our agricultural commodities platform takes this symbiotic relationship even further, benefitting the millions of farmers throughout India whilst simultaneously providing greater food security for the UAE."
He added: "The UAE has a comprehensive plan in place to ensure food security and champion agribusiness trade facilitation, with the ultimate goal of positioning our nation as a world leading hub in innovation-driven food security. The launch of an innovative model like Agriota will inch the UAE closer to the top of the Global Food Security Index."
Sachin Suri, Chairman and Managing Director, CropData said: "The platform's core positioning is its 'Neutrality', similar to the position of match-making platforms. We don't buy a single grain or kilo of the commodity, we provide credible information in easy to understand formats to facilitate the trade."
He further added: "The CropData model can help invert the fragmented agriculture supply chain and can be replicated in various parts of the world especially in countries with similar farming patterns. India is the second largest agriculture economy with largest arable land in the world, with the capability to provide various commodities all year round. We are launching 41 commodities of various varieties, which includes cereals, pulses, oil seeds, fruits, vegetables, fibers etc. We also provide various value-added services through our partners, on an integrated basis for an end-to-end customer experience".