TRUSTyFOOD – Blockchain technology in the agricultural and food sector

The EU project TRUSTyFOOD is investigating how blockchain technology can strengthen transparency, traceability, and sustainability in the agrifood sector. The project combines systematic analyses of use cases, standards, and interoperability approaches with a stakeholder-driven roadmap for the EU agricultural sector.

TRUSTyFOOD provides logistics managers with reliable evidence of where blockchain creates added value along food chains and what requirements must be met in terms of technology, organizations, policy, and regulation.

TRUSTyFOOD is a Horizon Europe Coordination and Support Action with 13 partners from seven EU countries and one third country. The project supports the strategic research agenda of a future joint research program on blockchain in the agricultural sector. The core objective is to organize the fragmented picture of existing applications in agrifood chains and to clarify their benefits for all stages of food distribution.

The consortium records national, European, and international use cases, evaluates benefits, gaps, costs, and business models, and analyzes the digital maturity of the sector. At the same time, TRUSTyFOOD involves users at an early stage, identifies needs and challenges, and translates these into operational requirements for services.

The focus is on reasons for the acceptance or rejection of blockchain applications, typical misdevelopments, and best practices. In addition to technical aspects, TRUSTyFOOD examines interoperability, standardization, regulation, sustainability, and new business models. For logistics, the project addresses key challenges such as complex supply chains, heterogeneous data silos, and the emergence of isolated "blockchain islands."

Use TRUSTyFOOD as a basis for decision-making on blockchain in supply chains 

• Systematic inventory of blockchain applications for solving problems in the agricultural and food industry
• Public database of use cases at various stages of maturity with a focus on the agriculture, aquaculture, and food sectors
• Stakeholder-driven white papers on standards, interoperability, new business models, and regulatory issues
• Roadmap document and policy brief with recommendations for action for the European Commission and practitioners
• Framework of services with tools, guidelines, and insights for preparing future blockchain implementations 

Contact the TRUSTyFOOD team

TRUSTyFOOD is not developing a single technology stack, but rather a European roadmap for blockchain in agrifood chains. The starting point is the observation that most applications remain in the pilot or concept phase and are blocked by a lack of standards, limited interoperability, and sector-specific requirements.

As a result of the roadmap, three pillars have been identified as strategic transdisciplinary research areas that are crucial to ensuring that the introduction of blockchain in the agricultural and food industry by 2030 and beyond is not only technologically feasible, but also economically sustainable and socially inclusive.

These pillars are:

• Capacity building and skills development
• Technical needs and digitalization
• System economics

These areas were selected in order to comprehensively close the gap between technological potential and practical application and to quickly realize the visions for 2030–2050, in which digitalization is confirmed as the foundation and blockchain is integrated.

Pillar 1: Capacity building and skills

This pillar addresses the human and institutional dimensions by promoting awareness, education, and skills development among stakeholders—from farmers to consumers—and ensuring that the benefits of blockchain are understood, accepted, and effectively leveraged.

Pillar 2: Technical requirements and digitization

This area aims to address fundamental challenges such as interoperability, cybersecurity, integrated digital systems, and the creation of experimentation spaces (test environments/sandboxes) that enable real-world validation of blockchain applications in the areas of food traceability, fraud prevention, and sustainable certification.

Pillar 3: System economics

This area examines the economic impact of the introduction of blockchain. In other words, how blockchain can transform value chains in the agrifood industry through new business models and value chain restructuring, equitable value distribution, administrative efficiency, and financial inclusion, especially for smallholder farmers.

"TRUSTyFOOD is investigating how blockchain technology can unlock its untapped potential to strengthen supply chain transparency, efficiency, and environmental responsibility in the agrifood sector. In combination with other technologies, blockchain forms the basis for innovative sustainable financing approaches and is a tool for coordinating climate-positive actions – especially in agriculture! It increases the reliability of sustainability data that can be used for decision-making to fairly reward farmers and other agricultural stakeholders for their contribution to protecting and restoring nature."
Thuy Tien Nguyen Thi forscht an Blockchain-Technologien am Fraunhofer IML

The TRUSTyFOOD project combines several levels of analysis. An evaluation of studies and projects shows around 320 blockchain projects in the agrifood sector, only a few of which are moving into full operation. Building on this, the consortium analyzes research trends, EU-supported initiatives, and practical examples such as TE-FOOD, Provenance, and IBM Food Trust.

In parallel, the TRUSTyFOOD white paper analyzed international standardization activities (ISO/TC 307, ITU-T, ETSI ISG PDL, CEN-CENELEC JTC 19, IEEE) and assessed their relevance for the agricultural sector. Three fields of application serve as references:

• Supply chain management and traceability
• Climate resilience and farmers' incomes
• Smart farming

TRUSTyFOOD derives options for action from these building blocks:

• Separation, but close integration of standards and interoperability.
• Definition of a core infrastructure for data and system coupling.
• Development of a sector-specific standards framework for agricultural and food chains.
• Focus on use cases with clear value propositions for supply chain managers.

Use case: Data-driven traceability in supply chains

The food supply chain generates large amounts of data on soil, seeds, plant condition, weather, quality, market prices, and logistics. This data comes from mobile devices, IoT sensors, or satellites. Today, fragmented information systems and inconsistent legal frameworks in digital agriculture prevent end-to-end traceability.

The white paper shows how standards and interoperability can help here. International GS1 standards such as GTIN and the Global Traceability Standard enable unique identification and seamless product tracking across stages and countries. However, without uniform data formats, additional silos and incompatibilities arise.

Initiatives such as the Digital Integration of Agricultural Supply Chains Alliance (DIASCA) are developing open standards for interoperability between traceability systems. The goal is to create a common data basis for due diligence reports in the context of the EU Deforestation Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. TRUSTyFOOD classifies such approaches and discusses how blockchain can contribute to securing data flows, for example in ESG reporting or proofs of origin.

For logistics managers, this means that blockchain is useful when it is combined with standardized data structures and compatible interfaces. Only then can supply chains be transparently mapped from production to delivery and recalls be precisely controlled. 

Use Case: Climate, carbon markets, and farmers' incomes

Climate change, rising land prices, and intensive farming are affecting yields and incomes in the agricultural sector. Regenerative agriculture addresses these challenges by strengthening soil structure, biodiversity, water management, and climate resilience. However, studies show that global regenerative goals would require investments of US$200 to US$450 billion per year, while current funding is far below that.

Market-based solutions such as voluntary carbon markets for agriculture are intended to reduce this funding gap. Carbon farming can open up additional revenue streams if emission reductions and sink services are reliably measured and remunerated. This is where the white paper addresses the role of standards and blockchain.

The report emphasizes that the lack of coordinated standards for blockchain in carbon markets undermines data quality and the comparability of certificates. Tokenized CO₂ credits differ depending on the platform, fungibility, and trading status. Without clear terminology, data quality requirements, and interoperability between applications, the market model remains fragile.

TRUSTyFOOD argues that blockchain can only support a transparent carbon market for agriculture in combination with robust standardization approaches. For logistics and procurement, this opens up prospects for credible climate-related product declarations along the supply chain, provided that data on emissions and mitigation measures become standardized, auditable, and usable across platforms.

Use Case: Smart farming and digital infrastructures

Smart farming uses sensors, drones, satellites, and data-driven software to refine agricultural decisions. Applications range from satellite-based machine navigation and automatic feeding systems to machine learning models for optimized sowing. These technologies generate large amounts of data, which often remain in separate systems.

The white paper emphasizes the need for open interfaces and standardized data formats. Standards create a common language through which farmers, suppliers, technology providers, and logistics players can exchange data. In conjunction with AI models, standardized data supports both retrospective analyses and operational decisions to increase yields and resource efficiency.

The report discusses the role of IoT networks and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) in providing the necessary digital infrastructure. Initiatives such as Farmsent combine blockchain with DePIN to increase transparency in agricultural supply chains and enable new marketplace models. At the same time, the lack of standards for data sharing and monetization limits the benefits of such approaches.

TRUSTyFOOD therefore anchors smart farming in a broader interoperability framework. For logistics companies, this creates a picture in which field, warehouse, and transport data are linked via standardized protocols and suitable blockchain solutions. This enables the creation of a digital twin of products and processes that supports  scheduling, quality assurance, and sustainability certification along the chain.

TRUSTyFOOD is designed as a "Coordination and Support Action" and prepares research and innovation activities for the coming decade. The involvement of 13 organizations from research, industry, associations, and consulting ensures that perspectives along the entire chain, from primary production to distribution, are taken into account. For logistics decision-makers, this creates a European-coordinated view of the opportunities and limitations of blockchain in the agricultural sector.

TRUSTyFOOD addresses several areas of expertise along the agricultural and food logistics chain. The consortium provides factual foundations by mapping and evaluating blockchain use cases. It also developed participation formats and established a co-creation methodology with online consultations, sectoral and intersectoral stakeholder meetings, and task forces. This results in fact-based recommendations that balance the interests of agriculture, technology providers, food distributors, consumer representatives, and policymakers.

In-depth analyses of blockchain applications on climate, society, food systems, and business models were also carried out. Fraunhofer IML assessed the impact of blockchain technology on climate change. Other contributions derive new business models and their market impacts. Forward-looking scenarios outline how blockchain can contribute to sustainable, healthy, and inclusive food systems.

The findings were translated into action-oriented formats for policy and practice and made publicly available in the form of white papers, a roadmap, a policy brief, and a framework of services, among other things. Communication, dissemination, and clustering activities ensured reach and networking in parallel.

This has created a portfolio of analyses, strategic paths, and practical services for decision-makers in logistics, helping them to evaluate blockchain in agrifood logistics in a targeted and evidence-based manner.