Traceability is an essential element of any agricultural business. With traceability as your cornerstone, you can establish accountability, trust and repeatable processes that ultimately lead to increased operational efficiency and a more effective supply chain. In this blog we will cover the basics of traceability in agriculture, so that you can understand what it is and why it’s important. We’ll explain the different elements of traceability in detail – from who should be responsible for implementing traceability to how to implement it effectively.
What is Traceability in Agriculture?
The concept of traceability in agriculture (click) refers to the process of documenting and tracing the path of agricultural product throughout the supply chain in order to manage the risks of fraud, mislabeling and theft. The traceability process, from farm-to-fork, involves several steps from the beginning of the chain all the way to the customer. It is the responsibility of the producing organization or the source of the product to maintain the trace from the point where the product is created to the customer. The following are the basic steps of traceability in agriculture: Creation of a system for tracking the product from the farm to the consumer. Maintaining data about the product. Using blockchain technology to maintain and trace data.
Importance of Traceability in Agriculture
The importance of traceability in agriculture is highlighted by the fact that traceability is one of only a handful of core elements of any modern agricultural business that are outside of the scope of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The most common reason why traceability programs fail is that the companies don’t realize the importance and benefits of traceability to their businesses. The reasons for implementing traceability in your agricultural business are many and varied. The most common reason for implementing traceability is to reduce the risk of fraud, mislabeling and theft. There are many ways to provide traceability in agriculture. Industry-leading software platforms, such as Kansas State University’s AgTrax, can provide you with the right solution for your business.
