An Energy-Efficient, Privacy-Preserving Distributed Ledger Framework for Agricultural Equipment Traceability Using Passive NFC

Abstract

Agricultural digitisation is increasingly driven by regulatory compliance, sustainability mandates, and the need for trusted multi-stakeholder collaboration. However, agricultural equipment traceability remains largely manual or dependent on energy-intensive Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructures that are ill-suited for rural environments. This paper presents AgriLink, a privacy-preserving and energy-efficient Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) framework for agricultural equipment and workforce traceability, developed under the TrustChain OC5 initiative. AgriLink introduces an event-driven architecture based on passive Near Field Communication (NFC), selective blockchain anchoring, zero-trust security, and privacy-by-design principles. By functioning primarily on episodic, event-driven, non-continuous data flows, the framework enables verifiable digital twins of physical agricultural assets without continuous telemetry or battery-powered sensors. This study details the system architecture, threat modelling, privacy mechanisms, and a comparative evaluation against traditional IoT tracking systems. Experimental validations indicate up to a 94% reduction in energy consumption at the sensing layer compared to an average of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ZigBee, and LoRaWAN architectures, while maintaining robust auditability and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance. The results establish AgriLink as a viable blueprint for sustainable DLT adoption in physical asset-intensive agricultural sectors.