BlockGrain looks to simplify food chain
BURLEIGH blockchain based agricultural company BlockGrain will launch a public sale of its own cryptocurrency token as it looks to raise $37 million to fund an expansion it says could revolutionise the global food supply chain.
The start-up has already raised $3.5 million in a private sale of its ethereum-based Agri tokens, which it hopes will become the lifeblood of the company’s software platform.
BlockGrain is marketed as a simple-to-use, secure, software platform that automates and integrates the supply chain for farm produce.
Its founders said farmers will be able to use the platform to simplify storage, quality, valuation and blending processes, while brokers, logistics operators and eventually buyers will be able to apply it to contracts, deliveries and purchasing, allowing commodities to be traced from paddock to plate.
CEO and co-founder Caile Ditterich said the company hoped to grow its team from four staff to nine as it looked to expand from legumes and grains like wheat, barley, oats and canola to fruit and vegetables.
They are also looking overseas to India and Africa for farmers and others keen to adopt the platform.
BlockGrain received a $95,000 grant from the Queensland Government last year, but declined an offer of about $1.6 million worth of XEM tokens, offered by the global NEM blockchain investment fund – a fund where blockchain ideas are voted up by the public.
Mr Ditterich said they wanted to keep their options open and Agri coins provided that option.
“The funding will allow us to expand into fruit and vegetables and into other countries,” he said.
“We have a brokerage group which will support our system along the east coast and South Australia – they have a network of about 1000 farmers.”
While blockchain remains a mystery to many, Mr Ditterich said farmers had been enthusiastic about how BlockGrain could work for their business.
“Now we have a situation where farmers – from their 20s to their 50s – are very tech savvy,” he said. “They’re using GPS, phones and mobile apps to buy and sell grain already.”
The BlockGrain app is web-based, but the company is looking to launch a mobile version in coming weeks.
Registrations for the token sale open on March 31.
THE FUNDING WILL ALLOW US TO EXPAND INTO FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AND INTO OTHER COUNTRIES BLOCKGRAIN CEO CAILE DITTERICH