Alipay's operator Ant Financial signs deal with Bayer to develop agricultural blockchain solution

Alipay’s parent company Ant Financial has entered into a partnership with pharmaceutical Bayer Crop Science to develop a blockchain solution for the food and crop industry.

According to Ledger Insights, the two firms inked a letter of intent to “develop a traceable agricultural product monitoring and service system,” which aims to improve efficiency, farmer income, and food products’ quality and safety. The plan was reportedly announced at this week’s Apsara Conference in Hangzhou, China.

“Agriculture is the foundation of human civilization. Together with Bayer, our exploration of blockchain in agriculture will improve the transparency and responsiveness of its supply chain, and bring more value to consumers, farmers and the society,” Geoff Jiang, VP and GM of Ant Financial’s Intelligent Technology Group.

Ant Financial announced that it also plans to extend its partnership with Hyperledger to work on interoperability, standards, and blockchain applications. The firm’s blockchain-as-a-service offers support for both its own platform and Hyperledger’s Fabric.

“By working side by side, we strive to assist the agriculture industry on its transformation in the new era, enhance the application of advanced agricultural technologies, increase agriculture production efficiency, improve farmer’s income, and protect food safety,” Weidong Huang, Bayer Crop Science’s Great China division head, said.

Earlier this year, Pakistan’s Telenor Microfinance Bank and Telenor Group’s fintech arm Valyou has announced the first blockchain-based cross-border remittance service in Pakistan powered by Alipay’s blockchain technology.

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