Abstract
Context: Achieving zero hunger through food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable agriculture is one
of the global agendas. Thus, the quality of seeds is important for ensuring sustainable food security, making
seed certification critically important. However, classical seed certification systems are predominantly paperbased
with limited digitisation. These systems, even digitised, are often centralised, and they face challenges
related to transparency, traceability, and integrity.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the practicality of blockchain technology in revitalising transparency,
traceability, and integrity in the seed certification process.
Methods: This study used a Design Science Research (DSR) approach to design and test a blockchain-based
smart contract to improve the seed certification process. Within the DSR framework, the study used literature
review and evolutionary prototyping to establish the requirements and design the prototype.
Results and conclusions: The findings demonstrate the practical application of blockchain technology in improving
aspects of transparency and integrity in the seed certification process. The findings further underscore that
smart contracts can be leveraged efficiently to automate and enhance the seed certification process. The findings
provide evidence-based frameworks for decision-makers and practitioners to justify the prioritisation of
blockchain technology in designing future sustainable agricultural systems. Future studies should investigate
how blockchain-based systems for seed certification can be scaled and integrated with existing agricultural
systems.
Significance: This study provides both theoretical and practical contributions on application of blockchain technology
in the domain of seed supply chain. Specifically, it provides a comprehensive account of the design aspects
of blockchain system in the seed certification process.