Heifer and IBM use blockchain and AI to help Honduran coffee and cocoa farmers - SiliconANGLE

IBM Corp. and Heifer International announced today that blockchain-based IBM Food Trust and artificial intelligence platform IBM Watson are being used to help small-scale coffee and cocoa farmers in Honduras get higher crop yields and access new markets. Food Trust uses blockchain technology to track products from farm to point of sale, providing transparency along the entire supply chain. It is currently being used by coffee farmers in the Cooperativa Regional Agroforestal Nuevas Ideas Limitada, a farmer cooperative, and cocoa farmers that are part of Heifer's Chocolate4All project. According to a study published by Heifer International small-scale farmers operate at an average of 46% to 59% loss because of excessive middlemen. Increased transparency enables end buyers more opportunity to understand whom they are buying from and thus can create a competitive advantage for small-scale coffee and cocoa farmers.