# Blockchain and smart contract for IoT enabled smart agriculture

**Authors:** Tahmid Hasan Pranto, Abdulla All Noman, Atik Mahmud, AKM Bahalul Haque  
**arXiv:** [2104.00632](https://arxiv.org/abs/2104.00632)  
**Date:** 2021-04-01  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/arxiv-id/2104.00632v1/

## Key points

- The agricultural sector has been slow to adopt new technologies in pre-harvest and post-harvest processing
- Issues include unfair payment for farmers, lack of consumer information, and increased retail prices by intermediaries
- Blockchain, smart contracts, and IoT devices can automate processes and establish trust among all parties involved
- Proposed system uses blockchain as backbone with IoT devices collecting data and smart contracts regulating interactions
- Gas cost analysis conducted to understand associated costs with each operation
- Blockchain technology is immutable, transparent, available, and secure in agriculture
- Combining blockchain, smart contracts, and IoT can improve efficiency in agricultural processes
- Blockchain technology provides transparency, record-keeping, tracing, monitoring capabilities in real-world scenarios
- Solving problems within the agricultural system is crucial for maintaining continuous food supply without shortages
- Integrating blockchain with smart contracts and IoT devices can create a distributed network connecting sellers and buyers while ensuring fair prices
- Automation, transparency, trust-building mechanisms provided by smart contracts, and data collection facilitated by IoT devices can revolutionize agriculture
- Areas for future research identified to explore blockchain's potential in the agricultural sector.

## Summary

The agricultural sector has been slow to adopt new technologies, particularly in the areas of pre-harvest and post-harvest processing. This has led to issues such as farmers not receiving fair payment, consumers lacking information about the products they buy, and intermediaries increasing retail prices. However, by leveraging blockchain, smart contracts, and IoT devices, it is possible to automate these processes and establish trust among all parties involved. In this research, the authors explored the integration of blockchain and smart contracts with IoT devices in the pre-harvesting and post-harvesting segments of agriculture. They proposed a system that uses blockchain as the backbone, with IoT devices collecting data from the field level and smart contracts regulating interactions between stakeholders. The implementation of this system was illustrated through diagrams and explanations. The authors also analyzed the system in terms of its advantages and disadvantages. They conducted a gas cost analysis to provide insights into the costs associated with each operation. The research highlighted the immutable, transparent, available, and secure nature of blockchain technology in agriculture. It emphasized how combining blockchain, smart contracts, and IoT can create a robust mechanism for improving efficiency in agricultural processes. The literature review section provided a comprehensive overview of blockchain technology's capabilities in terms of transparency, record-keeping, tracing, monitoring,
and overall development of real-world scenarios. Blockchain was described as a disruptive technology that forms a chain of connected blocks containing transaction data. Its ability to timestamp digital payments using cryptographic hash ensures security against double spending. The authors emphasized that solving problems within the agricultural system is crucial for maintaining a continuous food supply without facing global shortages. They suggested that integrating blockchain with smart contracts and IoT devices could create a distributed network connecting sellers
and buyers while allowing an organization or authority to monitor relevant information and set fair prices. Overall,this research demonstrated how blockchain technology can revolutionize agriculture by addressing existing challenges through automation, transparency, trust-building mechanisms provided by smart contracts, and data collection facilitated by IoT devices. The study also identified areas for future research and provided a foundation for further exploration of blockchain's potential in the agricultural sector.