Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Review Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp2 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Cyber-secured agriculture (part 2): Blockchain nexus

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13819
Submitted
25 January 2026
Published
20-06-2026

Abstract

Data is not just information; it’s the bloodstream of the hyper-connected digital ecosystem. Anchored in this premise, part 1 of this review series, entitled “big data genesis,” unveiled the digital behemoth by tracing the historical evolution of data from rudimentary records to the era of planetary-scale digital generation. It revealed how the data has transitioned from passive documentation into a powerful active force that governing the entire economic system, technologies and the decision-making across the various domains through the big data analytics. Within agriculture domain, big data has become an important factor of the intelligent farming systems, enabling the real-time decisionmaking and the predictive precision. However, as agriculture transited from the digital intelligence to digital dependence, a significant vulnerability arises without the trust, the data will lack its value. The very same datasets that support the precision farming and the advanced analytics will become liabilities, if they are falsified, fragmented or manipulated without adequate authentication. Therefore, beyond simply generating and analysing the agricultural big data, there is an imperative need for an advanced technological framework capable of ensuring the transparency, integrity and verifiability of the digital agricultural records. As an essential sequential continuum in this digital agricultural odyssey from the data intelligence to the data trust architecture: part 2, entitled “Blockchain nexus”, explores the decentralised core that underpins the contemporary cryptocurrencies and the digital economies. Building upon this evolution, the central hypothesis of this present paper proposes that, integrating the blockchain technology with the agriculture can pioneer a secure, transparent, tamper-proof and the traceable data ecosystem for the modern farming systems. This architecture enables the complete end to end traceability of the agricultural inputs, farming practices and the outputs, thereby enhancing the credibility of organic agriculture and sustainable farming claims, while preserving the data integrity across the entire agricultural-value chain. By enabling this verifiable provenance and the secure digital records, this framework aims to reinforce the trust of consumer, improve the regulatory compliance and promote the emergence of cyber-secured
agriculture system.

References

  1. 1. Porchelvan T, Sudhakar P, Monisha S. Cyber-secured agriculture (Part 1): Big data genesis. Plant Science Today. 2025;12(4). https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.10661
  2. 2. Porchelvan T, Sudhakar P, Monisha S. Big data analytics in agriculture. In: Jangre A, Nandini P, Guggilla M, Kabilan M, Vasumathi V, editors. Science, systems and sustainability. 1st ed. Stella International Publication; 2025. p. 123–43.
  3. 3. Porchelvan T, Sudhakar P, Monisha S. IoT in modern farming systems. In: Jangre A, Nandini P, Guggilla M, Kabilan M, Vasumathi V, editors. Science, systems and sustainability. 1st ed. Stella International Publication; 2025. p. 29–59.
  4. 4. Porchelvan T, Sudhakar P. Algorithm-fortified biofuel robust for next-gen climate-intelligent agriculture. In: Kumar R, Verma SC, Bhargava R, Bhargava S, Kalyani S, editors. Emerging trends in agriculture and agricultural economics for environmental sustainability. Kota (India): Vital Biotech Publication; 2025. p. 113–8.
  5. 5. Porchelvan T, Sudhakar P. Data analytics and AI for predictive agronomy. In: Patel A, Singh S, Mangaraj A, Pramanik M, Nivetha C, editors. Cultivating the future: Redefining agronomy for resilient agriculture. 1st ed. Stella International TM Publication; 2025. p. 184–212.
  6. 6. Porchelvan T, Sudhakar P, Monisha S. Blockchain for food supply chains. In: Jangre A, Nandini P, Guggilla M, Kabilan M, Vasumathi V, editors. Science, systems and sustainability. 1st ed. Stella International Publication; 2025. p. 233–54.
  7. 7. Sudhakar P, Porchelvan T, Manimaran S. Simulated blockchain-based traceability and transparency system in smart cotton cultivation. In: Rathore SS, Rana DS, Babu S, Jat SL, Dass A, Kaur R, Meena SL, Singh T, Mahanta D, Raj R, et al., editors. Sixth International Agronomy Congress: Re-envisioning agronomy for smart agri-food systems and environmental stewardship. Extended summaries. Vol. III; 2025 Nov 24–26; New Delhi, India. New Delhi: The Indian Society of Agronomy, IAR; 2025. p. 92–94.
  8. 8. Porchelvan T, Sudhakar P. Blockchain as democracy’s defense guard in election voting systems. In: Thileepan T, Narayanan R, Karthick S, editors. Proceedings of the national conference on sustainable sourcing and supply chain management for organic products: Challenges and innovation; 2025. p. 28–9.
  9. 9. Kshetri N. Blockchain and the economics of food safety. J Econ Surv. 2021;35(1):1–24. https://doi.org/10.1109/mitp.2019.2906761
  10. 10. Kamilaris A, Fonts A, Prenafeta-Boldú FX. The rise of blockchain technology in agriculture and food supply chains. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2019;91:640–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.07.034
  11. 11. Casino F, Dasaklis TK, Patsakis C. A systematic literature review of blockchain-based applications: Current status, classification and open issues. Telecommun Syst. 2019;71(1):1–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.11.006
  12. 12. Lin Q, Wang H, Pei X, Wang J. Food traceability system based on blockchain and EPCIS. IEEE Access. 2019;7:20698–707. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2019.2897792
  13. 13. Tian F. A supply chain traceability system for food safety based on HACCP, blockchain and Internet of Things. In: International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management; 2017; Dalian, China. p. 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/icsssm.2017.7996119
  14. 14. Tripoli M, Schmidhuber J. Emerging opportunities for the application of blockchain in the agri-food industry. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and ICTSD; 2018.
  15. 15. Hashemi SH, Faghri F, Shams S. Blockchain technology in agriculture: Applications and challenges. Comput Electron Agric. 2021;185:106141.
  16. 16. Salah K, Rehman MHU, Nizamuddin N, Al-Fuqaha A. Blockchain for AI: Review and open research challenges. IEEE Access. 2019;7:10127–49. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2018.2890507
  17. 17. Yaga D, Mell P, Roby N, Scarfone K. Blockchain technology overview. NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) 8202. Gaithersburg (MD): National Institute of Standards and Technology; 2019. https://doi.org/10.6028/nist.ir.8202
  18. 18. Narayanan A, Bonneau J, Felten E, Miller A, Goldfeder S. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies: A comprehensive introduction. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press; 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1353-4858(16)30074-5
  19. 19. Zheng Z, Xie S, Dai H, Chen X, Wang H. An overview of blockchain technology: Architecture, consensus, and future trends. In: IEEE International Congress on Big Data; 2017; Honolulu, HI. p. 557–64. https://doi.org/10.1109/BigDataCongress.2017.85
  20. 20. Bonneau J, Miller A, Clark J, Narayanan A, Kroll JA, Felten EW. SoK: Research perspectives and challenges for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In: Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy; 2015; San Jose, CA. p. 104–21.
  21. 21. Kasyapa MS, Vanmathi C. Blockchain integration in healthcare: A comprehensive investigation of use cases, performance issues, and mitigation strategies. Front Digit Health. 2024;6:1359858. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1359858
  22. 22. Komalavalli C, Saxena D, Laroiya C. Overview of blockchain technology concepts. In: Handbook of research on blockchain technology. Cambridge (MA): Academic Press; 2020. p. 349–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819816-2.00014-9
  23. 23. Sreelatha C, Teja GS, Lakshman B, Lokeshwar G, Madhu P. A blockchain-based approach to secure, transparent, and tamper-resistant legal document management. Int J Eng Res Sci Technol. 2025;21(2):2914–20. https://doi.org/10.62643/ijerst.2025.v21.n2.pp2914-2920
  24. 24. Soulaimani Y, Nehéz K. Blockchain and hashing algorithms: A review. Prod Syst Inf Eng. 2023;11(3):154–72. https://doi.org/10.32968/psaie.2023.3.8
  25. 25. Ajao LA, Agajo J, Adedokun EA, Karngong L. Crypto hash algorithm-based blockchain technology for managing decentralized ledger database in oil and gas industry. J. 2019;2(3):300–25. https://doi.org/10.3390/j2030021
  26. 26. Shrivas MK, Yeboah T. The disruptive blockchain: Types, platforms and applications. Texila Int J Acad Res. 2019;3:17–39.
  27. 27. Ghosh BC, Bhartia T, Addya SK, Chakraborty S. Leveraging public–private blockchain interoperability for closed consortium interfacing. In: Abdelzaher TF, Chowdhury K, Liu JC, editors. IEEE INFOCOM 2021 – IEEE Conference on Computer Communications; 2021 May; Vancouver, Canada. New York: IEEE; 2021. p. 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1109/INFOCOM42981.2021.9488683
  28. 28. Alketbi A, Talib MA, Nasir Q. Blockchain security framework for government private blockchain consortium. In: Rehman MHU, Svetinovic D, Salah K, Damiani E, editors. Trust models for next-generation blockchain ecosystems. Cham (Switzerland): Springer International Publishing; 2021. p. 225–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75107-4_9
  29. 29. Noorain A, Ahmad K, Ricci LEM. Private and consortium blockchain. In: Ahmad K, Dulhare UN, Badar MS, Ahamed J, Rizvi MA, editors. Fostering machine learning and IoT for blockchain technology: Smart cities applications. Vol. 1. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore; 2025. p. 189–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4078-2_6
  30. 30. Zeba S, Suman P, Tyagi K. Types of blockchain. In: Panda SK, Nayak SR, Mohanty SN, Elngar AA, editors. Distributed computing to blockchain. Cambridge (MA): Academic Press; 2023. p. 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-96146-2.00003-6
  31. 31. Paul P, Aithal PS, Saavedra R, Ghosh S. Blockchain technology and its types—A short review. Int J Appl Sci Eng. 2021;9(2):189–200. https://doi.org/10.30954/2322-0465.2.2021.7
  32. 32. Khettry AR, Patil KR, Basavaraju AC. A detailed review on blockchain and its applications. SN Comput Sci. 2021;2(1):30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-020-00366-x
  33. 33. Clauson KA, Breeden EA, Davidson C, Mackey TK. Leveraging blockchain technology to enhance supply chain management in healthcare: An exploration of challenges and opportunities in the health supply chain. Blockchain Healthc Today. 2018.1:1–12. https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v1.20
  34. 34. Sharma A, Kaur S, Singh M. A comprehensive review on blockchain and internet of things in healthcare. Trans Emerg Telecommun Technol. 2021;32(10):e4333. https://doi.org/10.1002/ett.4333
  35. 35. Chang A, El-Rayes N, Shi J. Blockchain technology for supply chain management: A comprehensive review. FinTech. 2022;1(2):191–205. https://doi.org/10.3390/fintech1020015
  36. 36. Baiod W, Light J, Mahanti A. Blockchain technology and its applications across multiple domains: A survey. J Int Technol Inf Manag. 2021;29(4):78–119. https://doi.org/10.58729/1941-6679.1482
  37. 37. Zwitter A, Hazenberg J. Decentralized network governance: Blockchain technology and the future of regulation. Front Blockchain. 2020;3:12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbloc.2020.00012
  38. 38. Al-Hussaini MH, Niazi I, Munawar N, Abbas N, Amanat I. The impact of blockchain technology on farming efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. Bincang Sains dan Teknol. 2024;3(1):34–39. https://doi.org/10.56741/bst.v3i01.504
  39. 39. Ding H, Cheng W, Song X, Dong G, Cui X, Yu W, et al. Integration of distributed technologies for intelligent food quality and safety management: Blockchain, IoT, and federated learning. Food Reviews International. 2025:1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/87559129.2025.2517292
  40. 40. Boce J, Hoxha L. Blockchain for sustainable development: A systematic review. Sustainability. 2025;17(11):4848. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114848
  41. 41. Son NM, Nguyen TL, Huong PT, Hien LT. Novel system using blockchain for origin traceability of agricultural products. Sens Mater. 2021;33(2):601. https://doi.org/10.18494/sam.2021.2490
  42. 42. Dey K, Shekhawat U. Blockchain for sustainable e-agriculture: Literature review, architecture for data management, and implications. J Clean Prod. 2021;316:128254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128254
  43. 43. Vangala A, Das AK, Mitra A, Das SK, Park Y. Blockchain-enabled authenticated key agreement scheme for mobile vehicles-assisted precision agricultural IoT networks. IEEE Trans Inf Forensics Secur. 2023;18:904–19. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIFS.2022.3231121
  44. 44. Kaur H. IoT for advanced agriculture. In: Prateek Gupta, Bhavana Kaushik, Kiran Ahuja, Indu Bala, editors. Hybrid optical wireless networks and sensor technologies. Boca Raton (FL): Apple Academic Press; 2025. p. 203–28. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003503408-10
  45. 45. Vedantam KS, Jain SK, Panwar NL, Sunil J, Wadhawan N, Kumar A. Emergence of internet of things technology in food and agricultural sector: A review. J Food Process Eng. 2024;47(8):e14698. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpe.14698
  46. 46. Sri Vigna Hema V, Manickavasagan A. Blockchain implementation for food safety in supply chain: A review. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2024;23(5):e70002. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.70002
  47. 47. Daraghmi EY, Jayousi S, Daraghmi YA, Daraghma RS, Fouchal H. Smart contracts for managing the agricultural supply chain: A practical case study. IEEE Access. 2024;12:125462–79. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3439412
  48. 48. Pranto TH, Noman AA, Mahmud A, Haque AB. Blockchain and smart contract for IoT enabled smart agriculture. PeerJ Comput Sci. 2021;7:e407. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.407
  49. 49. Patel H, Shrimali B. AgriOnBlock: Secured data harvesting for agriculture sector using blockchain technology. ICT Express. 2023;9(2):150–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icte.2021.07.003
  50. 50. Kumarathunga M, Calheiros RN, Ginige A. Smart agricultural futures market: Blockchain technology as a trust enabler between smallholder farmers and buyers. Sustainability. 2022;14(5):2916. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052916
  51. 51. Nandini K, Mahajan A, Narayan B, Reddy M. Product authenticity: A blockchain-based solution. In: 2024 5th International Conference for Emerging Technology (INCET); 2024 May; India. New York: IEEE; 2024. p. 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1109/INCET61516.2024.10593633
  52. 52. Tegeltija S, Dejanović S, Feng H, Stankovski S, Ostojić G, Kučević D, et al. Blockchain framework for certification of organic agriculture production. Sustainability. 2022;14(19):11823. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911823
  53. 53. Mani RJ, Kapoor N, Kashyap H, Shukla A, Katare DP. AI-enabled blockchain for livestock tracking and health management in smart agriculture. In: Amit Kumar Tyagi, Shrikam Tiwari, editors. Blockchain and digital twin applications in smart agriculture. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications; p. 52–68. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003507390-4
  54. 54. Daniel D, Ifejika Speranza C. The role of blockchain in documenting land users’ rights: The canonical case of farmers in the vernacular land market. Front Blockchain. 2020;3:19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbloc.2020.00019
  55. 55. Omar IA, Jayaraman R, Salah K, Hasan HR, Antony J, Omar M. Blockchain-based approach for crop index insurance in agricultural supply chain. IEEE Access. 2023;11:118660–75. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2023.3327286
  56. 56. Ioannou I, Demirel G. Blockchain and supply chain finance: A critical literature review at the intersection of operations, finance and law. J Bank Financ Technol. 2022;6(1):83–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42786-022-00040-1
  57. 57. Shahab H, Naeem M, Iqbal M, Aqeel M, Ullah SS. IoT-driven smart agricultural technology for real-time soil and crop optimization. Smart Agric Technol. 2025;10:100847. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2025.100847
  58. 58. Frigerio J, Campone L, Giustra MD, Buzzelli M, Piccoli F, Galimberti A, et al. Convergent technologies to tackle challenges of modern food authentication. Heliyon. 2024;10(11):e32297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32297
  59. 59. Babu P. Value chain upgrading strategies for integration of Indian small coffee growers in global coffee value chain. Indian J Agric Mark. 2019;33:1–15. https://doi.org/10.30954/0424-2513.4.2019.6
  60. 60. Chandra V, Rangaraju B. Blockchain for property: A roll out roadmap for India. New Delhi: India Institute; 2017.
  61. 61. Narain K. Exploring blockchain-based government services in India. In: Sonali Vyas, Vinod Kumar Shukla, Shauriya Gupta, Ajay Prasad, editors. Blockchain technology. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2022. p. 127–44. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003138082-8
  62. 62. Kaushik A. New technology interventions including blockchain technology in land record and registry management in India. In: Charalabidis Y, Cunha MA, Sarantis D, editors. Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance; 2020. p. 143–51.
  63. 63. Sudhakar P, Porchelvan T. Tapestry of crypto cotton’s odyssey in the global textile industry: Blockchain-enabled traceability across the cotton value chain. Plant Sci Today. 2025;13(Special Issue 1). https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.12385
  64. 64. Lin W, Huang X, Fang H, Wang V, Hua Y, Wang J, et al. Blockchain technology in current agricultural systems: From techniques to applications. IEEE Access. 2020;8:143920–37. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.3014522
  65. 65. Akella GK, Wibowo S, Grandhi S, Mubarak S. A systematic review of blockchain technology adoption barriers and enablers for smart and sustainable agriculture. Big Data Cogn Comput. 2023;7(2):86. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc7020086
  66. 66. Yap TL, Nayak R, Vu NT, Bui DT, Pham TTT, Allen DW. Adopting blockchain-based traceability in the fruit supply chain in a developing economy: Facilitators and barriers. Inf Technol People. 2025;38(1):419–41. https://doi.org/10.1108/itp-02-2023-0168

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.