FAO has initiated technical cooperation project “Enhancing Efficiency and Traceability of Agricultural Value Chains in Mongolia through innovations and ICTs” in order to assist Government of Mongolia piloting prioritized ICT solution in agriculture services. This project will pilot an application of block chain technology based solution to agriculture value chain.

The Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UNFAO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI), the Communication and Information Technology Authority (CITA), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other relevant stakeholders (e.g. telecom operators, ICT solution providers) will develop a prototype solution for the crop and livestock sectors in Mongolia. The solution would be a Digital Livestock Traceability and Management System that will help the smallholder farmers and herders, as well as the other actors in the respective value chains in tracking and monitoring of products and producers, exchange knowledge and information and conduct secure digital transactions underpinned by blockchain.

The key stakeholders and experts from Mongolia along with FAO & ITU representations attended the inception workshop. During the workshop, the project objective and context was explained by FAO Representative in Mongolia and followed by presentation on the technical approach of the project, FAO-ITU case studies on ICT in agriculture and an orientation session on blockchain technology. The stakeholders provided feedback about the possible ways to engage with different sectors.