AGRI.LINK

AGRI.LINK is an NFC-enabled service and blockchain infrastructure tracking agricultural machinery usage and enabling sharing and co-ownership models. In Italy, where agricultural equipment costs have risen by 50% since 2020 and specialized machinery is often utilized less than 10% annually, our solution addresses critical market inefficiencies while implementing sustainable blockchain technology.

AGRI.LINK application enables equipment registration through NFC tags, thereby creating corresponding digital twins as NFTs on the Alastria network through an existing Proof of Presence protocol. When an operator approaches a machine, a simple NFC tap with their smartphone uniquely identifies the machinery, validates user credentials and manages access rights, recording the user session with relevant data.

Equipment owners (farmers, cooperatives, or service providers) can then collect and leverage relevant information, enabling equipment sharing with other farmers, while tracking usage, maintaining operator pairing. This can enable agreement enforcement automation through smart contracts backed by solid legal contracts.

AGRI.LINK NFC’s implementation is an energy-efficient DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) architecture enabling event-driven updates triggered by NFC interactions to replace inefficient traditional continuous monitoring systems. This approach optimizes data flow and eliminates the need for powered IoT infrastructure while maintaining secure, verifiable records of equipment usage and operator qualifications.

The solution addresses current market fragmentation by providing a standardized interface across different equipment manufacturers, enabling efficient resource sharing while maintaining comprehensive operational records. The implementation leverages MIICT’s and CIA’s network members (8k in Apulia) to validate the system across distinct agricultural sectors, from livestock farming to viticulture; a regional cluster-based expansion plan will be used to scale model nationally and internationally.

AGRI.LINK introduces an innovative sustainability framework linking verified operational efficiencies with financial incentives. This alignment with TrustChain’s objectives demonstrates a process approach to energy-efficient DLT solutions that can deliver practical benefits while furthering sustainable resource utilization in critical economic sectors.

Motivation for the project: AGRI.LINK's NFC/NFT-based, event-driven architecture offers an energy-efficient, scalable DePIN solution for physical asset verification. It addresses agricultural market fragmentation by standardizing equipment tracking across manufacturers, a replicable pattern for TrustChain's sustainable DLT in other sectors
Generic use case description: A farmer uses their NFC-enabled smartphone to tap an agricultural machine's tag, registering the equipment and creating an NFT digital twin on the Alastria blockchain. This action records usage, validates operator credentials, and manages access rights, enabling efficient equipment sharing and automated agreement enforcement through smart contracts
Essential functionalities:
- NFC-enabled Equipment Registration & Digital Twins (NFTs): Machines tagged with NFC, creating NFTs on Alastria for tracking.
- User Validation & Access: NFC taps validate users and manage equipment access.
- Secure Usage Recording: Sessions are recorded, ensuring verifiable usage data.
- Equipment Sharing & Smart Contracts: Enables sharing and automated agreements.
- Energy-efficient DePIN: NFC-driven, event-based updates reduce power needs
How these functionalities can be integrated within the software ecosystem: These functionalities act as a standardized adapter layer connecting NFC-NFT interfaces to the Alastria network, leveraging Proxim.ai's expertise in secure digital twin registration. Identity management aligns with eIDAS infrastructure. This provides a vendor-agnostic, energy-efficient DePIN for TrustChain's DLT ecosystem
Gap being addressed: AGRI.LINK addresses critical fragmentation in agricultural equipment digitalization, where proprietary technology and disconnected monitoring systems lead to significant market inefficiencies. Specialized machinery is underutilized (often <10% annually), despite equipment costs rising by 50% since 2020. The project provides a vendor-agnostic, standardized interface for equipment tracking and resource optimization.
Expected benefits achieved with the novel technology building blocks: The novel technology is expected to significantly improve equipment utilization, targeting a 20% increase in sharable machinery within regional clusters. It aims for a 25% reduction in operational costs for farmers, through shared acquisition and revenue from lending underutilized equipment. Furthermore, it targets a 20% reduction in DLT load/burden, minimizing energy consumption by replacing continuous monitoring with event-driven NFC interactions.
Potential demonstration scenario: In Apulia, Italy, a farmer uses the AGRI.LINK service, and creates a Digital Twin of one Machine; after thta, his own employees scan NFC to track usage and validate their credentials, where this is tracked on the Alastria blockchain. Same machine is used by another entrepreneur, from different operators, and both events are correctly registered on blockchain. This demonstration will show tracking, a via smart contracts, and reduced equipment idle time, proving the system's efficiency and cost-saving benefits in a real-world agricultural setting.