Fujitsu : How digitalized rice trading is improving global food security

The second impact I will look at is perhaps even more important - certainly in the long term. It is addressing how to make rice production sustainable in the future, especially for a small country such as Singapore, with the bulk of our rice imported from countries such as Vietnam, India, Australia, Japan and Cambodia.

Like all agricultural production, rice cultivation impacts the environment. It is the second-largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions after cattle farming in the agricultural sector, with large quantities of methane - a particularly potent greenhouse gas - emitted from flooded rice fields as organic matter decays. Burning rice straw after the harvest also results in harmful emissions.

Buyers on the Rice Exchange platform can now connect with approved suppliers who conform with the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation. This benchmark is aimed at rice smallholders and was developed by the UN Environment Program, the International Rice Research Institute and public and private sector partners.

Rice farmers following the SRP Standard can reduce emissions by between 25% and 50% and reduce their water consumption by up to 25%. Equally important, to encourage widespread adoption, adopting the SRP Standard can boost smallholder income by between 10% and 20% through higher yields and savings in input costs.

After an onsite visit by an independent verification body, SRP suppliers receive a Verification Statement uploaded on the Rice Exchange platform. The buyer gets certainty that the rice is SRP-verified, and rice producers can charge a premium. Consumers are known to be willing to pay premiums between 9% and 33% for sustainably produced rice. With over one billion people economically dependent on rice farming, this has the potential to lift the incomes of many families.

The challenges of feeding the human population over the rest of the century are considerable. But the benefits of blockchain for greater efficiency and transparency are not restricted to rice, of course, and can be applied across any supply chain. With new technologies like blockchain, Fujitsu believes it is possible to create what we call "human-centric innovation" and ensure society rises to the future demands.