Blockchain Papers

Durga Devi

This study examines how data-driven decision-making and information systems shape supply chain efficiency, sustainability practices, and technological integration in an urban agriculture enterprise, with a focus on rejection and redistribution procedures as a decision-support mechanism for waste management. The objectives were to assess how real-time monitoring tools, IT-based order-processing platforms, and other information systems support supply chain and sustainability decision-making, and how such systems inform the firm's waste-management strategy. A quantitative approach was adopted, stratifying 100 stakeholders consumers, suppliers, farm operators, and distribution partners using structured questionnaires, with descriptive statistics applied to assess performance across key decision areas. A purposively selected agribusiness enterprise committed to supply chain performance was found to have moderate-to-high efficacy in timely delivery management, real-time monitoring tools, and order-processing IT platforms that collectively support operational decision-making. Sustainability is improved through decisions favouring biodegradable packaging and local, seasonal sourcing. Technological integration, including transparency mechanisms and smart packaging, informs the firm's decision processes, although blockchain adoption remains limited in practice. Effective rejection and redistribution decision processes reduce waste, divert surplus to productive channels, and directly support the company's zero-waste objectives. The findings show that supply chain excellence and environmental responsibility are mutually reinforcing when decision-making is supported by the right information systems: biodegradable packaging, in-house waste-management systems, and selective use of emerging technologies collectively strengthen operational performance. By embedding data-driven decision-support at every stage of its supply chain, the enterprise offers a model for responsible, information-systems-enabled agritech decision-making that balances efficiency, food safety, and long-term environmental sustainability.

David Michael Seagal

This CERN-style open-science briefing presents Version 3.0 of the Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix, an integrated agritech framework designed to resolve the global tension between intensive dairy production and freshwater protection. Building on earlier versions, it introduces a four-stage on-farm water treatment architecture combining biomimetic hydrodynamic shearing, advanced materials, opto-acoustic cleaning, and magnetic water conditioning. The system captures nitrates and nutrients at the farm gate, recirculates them into decentralized aeroponic forage production, reduces enteric methane, and delivers purified water to livestock while eliminating chemical cleaning and frequent filter replacement. Powered by multi-source environmental energy harvesting (solar, thermoelectric, and triboelectric), the framework transforms environmental compliance from a cost burden into a high-yield, closed-loop asset class. It aims to protect New Zealand’s $28+ billion dairy export engine, eliminate multi-billion-dollar water cleanup liabilities, and position the country as an exporter of regenerative agritech intellectual property. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21587166 Keywords Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix Agritech Singularity Regenerative dairy farming On-farm nitrate capture Closed-loop nutrient cycling Biomimetic water filtration Aeroponic forage systems Methane reduction Sustainable intensification New Zealand dairy Green finance Water-energy-food nexus Zero-waste agriculture Carbon and nutrient recovery Precision agritech

David Michael Seagal

Part 2: Enhanced Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix – Toward Net-Positive Regenerative Dairy Systems builds upon the original prospectus (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21538664) by integrating abundant low-cost clean energy, advanced on-site CO₂ scrubbers, intelligent multi-functional greenbelts, and decentralized vertical hydroponics. This evolution transforms New Zealand dairy farms from environmentally sustainable operations into active net-positive regenerative systems that function as carbon sinks, biodiversity enhancers, and water quality producers, while maintaining or increasing economic output. By leveraging current technological convergence — including satellite virtual fencing, AI-driven optimization, renewable power, and closed-loop nutrient cycling — the model delivers accelerated ROI, greater resilience for smaller farms, and a scalable blueprint for global pastoral agriculture. The enhanced framework resolves long-standing tensions between productivity and environmental stewardship, positioning New Zealand as a leader in high-tech regenerative food systems for the 21st century. (Word count: 148 – suitable for presentations, funding proposals, or DOI metadata) Keywords (for search, tagging, academic indexing, or presentation metadata) Primary Keywords: Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix Regenerative dairy farming Sustainable intensification Net-positive agriculture New Zealand dairy transformation Technical & Solution Keywords: Virtual fencing On-site Direct Air Capture (DAC) Decentralized vertical hydroponics Methane-scrubbing greenbelts Agritech closed-loop systems Renewable energy integration Carbon sequestration farming Strategic Keywords: Macroeconomic transformation Green finance KiwiSaver reinvestment Shared-equity sharemilking Global agritech IP export Climate-smart agriculture Net-zero dairy

Eber Addí Quintana-Obregón

This document proposes integrative principles that articulate fully established and validated approaches—such as ethnobotany, One Health, circular bioeconomy, TRL, and Access and Benefit-Sharing—into an integrative model that shifts bioprospecting from a purely extractive model centered on the pharmaceutical industry to a more human-centered, circular, and biocultural paradigm. Through a historical analysis of the generations of bioprospecting (from 0.0 to 4.0), this work theorizes that technological advancement has paradoxically contributed to epistemic injustice. The proposed 5.0 framework integrates social validation tools and introduces the Epistemic Gap Score (EGS) as an exploratory heuristic tool that allows for visualizing the divergence or cohesion of bioprospecting a plant resource and the recognition of ancestral knowledge in a more humanistic manner. Through preliminary proof-of-concept, this study demonstrates the practical utility of the EGS for prioritizing plant species for bioprospecting, ensuring that the valorization of underutilized plant resources produces a tangible “epistemic return” and thereby promotes community autonomy and multisectoral benefits across the food, energy, and health systems. By focusing on zero-waste cycles and social reciprocity, Bioprospecting 5.0 reestablishes the role of plant resources as essential components of sustainable global development and ethical scientific practice.

Tamerat Demeke Agonafer, Wondwossen Bogale Eremed, Kamil Dino Adem

A techno-economic assessment of a small-scale biogas-based trigeneration system (CCHP) with thermoelectric generator (TEGs) waste-heat recovery for a decentralized dairy farm application was conducted. In the economic analysis, all the revenue streams, such as electricity, thermal energy, digestate fertilizer, and carbon credits, have been considered. In this study, economic calculation models are built in MATLAB with a 15% discount rate and a 20-year project duration. The net present value, internal rate of return, payback period, and levelized cost of electricity are all used to show economic performance in a sort of clear way. The work looks at three scenarios: Energy Only, Energy plus Fertilizer, and Energy plus Fertilizer plus Carbon. The result demonstrated that the system needs a capital investment of 37,000 USD and achieves a positive net present value (NPV) of 18,892 USD, an IRR of more than 27%, a payback period of less than 3.6 years, and LCOE is 0.038 USD/kWh in scenario 3. In comparison to the energy-only scenario, digestate valorization and carbon credits increase net present value (NPV) by 167% and shorten the payback period by 1.3 years. According to break-even calculations, the system needs to run for only 5,800 hours a year to recoup the expenditure, which is less than the base-case estimate of 7,000 hours. The results show that the economic viability of small-scale biogas CCHP systems for decentralized dairy farm applications can be significantly improved by incorporating TEGs to recover waste heat and monetizing digestate fertilizer and carbon credits.

Phemelo Tamasiga, Valentine Munyaradzi Dzingai, Helen Onyeaka, Rose Daphnee Tchonkouang · 7 authors

• The global energy transition impacts food security in developing countries. Renewable energy improves agricultural productivity but creates trade-offs like land and water competition. • Agri-voltaic systems enhance crop yields and energy efficiency. They help balance food and energy production, reducing fossil fuel dependency. • Renewable energy projects can increase food prices in vulnerable regions. Financial incentives, social protection, education, and public-private partnerships to make renewable energy adoption more accessible and affordable for farmers. • Renewable energy can reduce agriculture’s operational costs but high initial investments limit smallholder farmers. The study recommends subsidies, training, and financial support to help farmers adopt renewable energy while ensuring food security is maintained. • There is an eminent need for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding energy transitions’ impacts on food security and long-term sustainability. Transitioning to net-zero societies affects how energy is produced and consumed, with consequences for food security. Through a systematic review of 43 peer-reviewed studies that follow the PRISMA protocol, results reveal that renewable energy can enhance agricultural productivity by reducing operational costs, increasing efficiency in irrigation and processing, and providing reliable access to energy. However, challenges exist, including competition for land and water resources between renewable energy projects and food production, high upfront costs of clean energy technologies, limited access to credit facilities, and institutional bottlenecks. To overcome these challenges, recommended policies include offering subsidies and financial incentives to make clean energy more affordable for farmers, as well as providing education and training to support the adoption of sustainable practices. Furthermore, promoting collaboration between the public and private sectors is crucial to stimulate investment in renewable energy infrastructure. Moreover, these policies must be designed for specific national circumstances. High-income or upper-middle-income countries can deploy capital-intensive agrivoltaic and biogas technologies via concessional finance. In contrast, low-income settings should prioritize low-cost, decentralized solar pumps and off-grid dryers to build farmer confidence and trust. Countries with stronger regulatory frameworks and secure land tenure systems are better equipped to support large-scale renewable energy projects. At the same time, regions with weaker governance tend to benefit most from community-owned mini-grids. The mapping of policy options onto economic, institutional, and agro-ecological dimensions provides a nuanced, context-sensitive framework to guide equitable and effective energy transitions in diverse agricultural landscapes.

Anne Charlotte Bunge, Amanda Wood, Afton Halloran, Line Gordon

Food system technologies (FSTs) are being developed to accelerate the transformation towards sustainable food systems. Here we conducted a systematic scoping review that accounts for multiple dimensions of sustainability to describe the extent, range and nature of peer-reviewed literature that assesses the sustainability performance of four FSTs: plant-based alternatives, vertical farming, food deliveries and blockchain technology. Included literature had a dominant focus on environmental sustainability and less on public health and socio-economic sustainability. Gaps in the literature include empirical assessments on the sustainability of blockchain technology, plant-based seafood alternatives, public health consequences of food deliveries and socio-economic consequences of vertical farming. The development of a holistic sustainability assessment framework that demonstrates the impact of deploying FSTs is needed to guide investments in and the development of sustainable food innovation.

Srdjan Tegeltija, Stefan Dejanović, Huanhuan Feng, Stevan Stankovski · 7 authors

Organic production, as a sustainable food production system, is designed to implement all agroecological principles that enable the preservation of human and animal health, environmental protection, and positive impact on society and the ecosystem while achieving significant economic benefits. Demand for organic food products is constantly growing, and the land area under organic production is continuously increasing. The problem in this sector is that producers of organic products face many administrative and systemic obstacles that prevent the faster development of this sector. On the other hand, consumers do not have complete confidence in the current mechanisms of control of organic production, so in the sale on the food markets and in the rest of the market, fake and unverified organic products can be found. Based on sensor data from the production field, this paper presents the SAFE platform as a solution for the described problem. The data necessary for producers to carry out the certification process are harmonized with the current legislation for organic food production. The SAFE platform uses blockchain technology to secure data consistency and history since it makes it impossible to change data history. The results of a survey about the SAFE platform are presented. The proposed solution stimulates the development and improvement of agricultural production by organic production methods, accompanied by increasing capacity in organic production.