Algorand and Boston University to Foster Blockchain Adoption by African Farmers

The Algorand Foundation is a non-profit organization whose primary objective is to provide support for the Algorand network. It has only just made public its collaboration with Boston University and Hello Tractor, an agricultural startup located in Kenya, to bring blockchain technology to Africa in the hopes of improving the productivity of the continent’s farmers.

Hello Tractor aims to address the growing problem of food insecurity and the underlying lack of technology in Africa’s agriculture industry. The company’s objective is to develop a “digital platform in the farming industry” by providing African farmers with equipment and technology like as tractors in order to boost food production and distribution.

The organization achieves this goal in part by brokering transactions between individuals who own tractors and farmers in Africa. However, the implementation of Hello Tractor’s services across many African areas and communities is hampered by issues such as poor roads, a lack of privacy legislation, and a large reliance on fiat money.

Tokenomics, a blockchain-based solution created by Boston University and Algorand, will be used to enable Hello Tractor scale despite “institutional and infrastructural difficulties in Africa” by allowing for secure bookings and the preservation of information pertaining to tractor operations.

The collaboration would also open the path for digital token advantages for all stakeholders. According to the research, “Access to tokens would strengthen Hello Tractor’s existing mobile and web app platform by establishing incentives for farmers, tractor owners, booking agents, and investors to overcome the bottlenecks to access.” Hello Tractor is a mobile and online app that connects farmers and tractor owners. Would Tomlinson, director of the Software & Application Innovation Lab (SAIL) at Boston Institution, remarked on the relationship, stating that it will allow the US university to contribute to the agricultural development of Africa.

Software creation gives us the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives while simultaneously allowing us to deepen our understanding of privacy and security, he said. Algorand has recently upped its game by forming partnerships with elite organizations like universities. The Algorand Foundation and New York University (NYU) formed a partnership in late February to increase data privacy via encryption.