How can agricultural product e-commerce accelerate blockchain adoption?
At present, a buyer's market in which domestic agricultural product supply exceeds demand has already emerged. "Good planting and good raising must be matched by good selling and good prices, so that farmers truly benefit." To solve this problem, what should we do now? The author believes that accelerating the application of blockchain in the field of agricultural product circulation has important practical significance.
Blockchain technology is the most eye-catching new technology this year
Since the 1990s, China's information technology has gone through three major waves: computers, the internet, and the Internet of Things. When it entered the "integration of three networks" (the new-generation internet, broadband telecommunications network, and digital television network), however, it encountered resistance from departmental and regional fragmentation. But the new-generation internet has already become tightly integrated with the broadband telecommunications network, and then the waves of big data and cloud computing followed one after another. In 2016, blockchain technology became the new wave.
This new technology, blockchain, can be understood as a mechanism (technical solution) for public bookkeeping; it is not a specific product. Its basic idea is: by establishing a set of "public ledgers" on the internet, all users in the network jointly "keep accounts" and "verify accounts" on the ledger, thereby ensuring the authenticity and immutability of information. Blockchain has 5 characteristics:
First, decentralization: because blockchain relies on each node to jointly maintain the system and ensure the authenticity of information transmission, and is based on distributed data storage rather than centralized management by some center, every node can spontaneously supervise.
Second, trustlessness: a connection established between any two nodes does not require trusting each other's identity, and data exchange between the two parties requires no basis of mutual trust. Since all nodes in the network can play the role of "supervisor," there is no need to worry about fraud.
Third, scalability: blockchain is an underlying open-source technology, on the basis of which various expanded, decentralized, and trustless applications can be realized, and blocks can expand over time.
Fourth, anonymity: both parties to data exchange can be anonymous, and nodes in the network can exchange data without knowing each other's identity and personal information.
Fifth, security and reliability: because activities between any nodes are supervised by the entire network, and the database uses distributed storage. For hackers, first, they cannot disguise themselves and carry out fraudulent activities; second, they cannot control the network merely by compromising a single node; third, if a node is "hacked," it will be quickly restored because other nodes exist.
Joint incentives for trustworthiness and joint punishment for dishonesty require blockchain technology
On May 30, 2016, the State Council issued the Guiding Opinions on Establishing and Improving the System of Joint Incentives for Trustworthiness and Joint Punishment for Dishonesty to Accelerate the Construction of Social Credit (Guo Fa [2016] No. 33). The author believes that blockchain is the best technical form for implementing the Opinions.
It can turn single-department regulation into society-wide co-governance and co-management, reduce the central government's regulatory pressure, and improve the effectiveness of practical regulation; it can reduce contradictions among multi-department regulation and truly give play to the role of joint social regulation; it can achieve true interconnection and interoperability and form good ecological relationships; it can truly implement the policy spirit of joint incentives for trustworthiness and joint punishment for dishonesty.
Blockchain technology emerged in 2008, and has become quite mature to date and is widely adopted in the international community. In Hong Kong, China, it has already been invested in and operated as a public social resource. IBM has carried out a large amount of research and development and has now entered the 4.0 stage. Tsinghua University and the Bulk Commodity Trading Market Circulation Branch of the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing have reached an agreement to conduct a pilot, and Hong Kong Tongyan Company has already conducted blockchain business for bulk commodity trading in the mainland, etc.
The application path of blockchain in China's agricultural product e-commerce
Blockchain technology has already seen preliminary application in e-commerce for "three products and one label" agricultural products, but this application has spontaneous factors and requires us to consciously and proactively promote it.
On the one hand, blockchain can be applied in the circulation of high-quality "three products and one label" agricultural products, to avoid the recurrence of phenomena such as Wuchang rice having an output of 1.05 million tons but sales of more than 10 million tons.
On the other hand, blockchain can be applied to the three key links in the circulation of high-quality "three products and one label" agricultural products: transactions, physical distribution, and settlement, for example:
Application of blockchain in the transaction link: producer or seller A sends a transaction instruction to user B. The transaction record is recorded in a "block" in the network. The block transmits the transaction data to all members of the network, completing the transaction. The block then joins the blockchain, leaving a transaction record that cannot be modified or deleted, and each member verifies that the transaction is valid.
Application of blockchain in the physical distribution link: producer or seller A sends a physical distribution instruction to user B. The physical distribution record is recorded in a "block" in the network. The block transmits the physical distribution data to all members of the network, completing the physical distribution. The block then joins the blockchain, leaving a physical distribution record that cannot be modified or deleted, and each member verifies that the physical distribution is valid.
Application of blockchain in the settlement link: producer or seller A sends a settlement instruction to user B. The settlement record is recorded in a "block" in the network. The block transmits the settlement data to all members of the network, completing the settlement. The block then joins the blockchain, leaving a settlement record that cannot be modified or deleted, and each member verifies that the settlement is valid.
After demonstration and gaining experience, promote this new technology throughout the national agricultural product circulation field, incorporate it into the planning for circulation infrastructure construction, and make it specific content.