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.
How did you come up with this project idea and what benefits will it bring to the end users?
The idea for AgriLink was born from the need to address market fragmentation and the high costs of advanced technology in the European agricultural sector. By bridging the gap between decentralized technologies and daily farming, the project creates a “vendor-agnostic” ecosystem where equipment can be tracked and shared transparently.
Origin of the Idea: The project was conceived to solve several critical challenges in modern farming:
Asset Underutilization: Many farmers own expensive machinery that remains idle for much of the year; the project idea centers on enabling secure, blockchain-verified sharing and co-ownership.
Trust and Compliance: There was a clear need for an immutable, tamper-proof way to record field activities to satisfy increasingly strict EU regulatory requirements, such as the Farm-to-Fork strategy and the Digital Product Passport.
Green Digitalization: The team aimed to prove that high-tech solutions like DLT do not have to be energy-intensive, choosing to combine passive NFC hardware with energy-efficient blockchain networks.
Benefits for End Users: The project delivers tangible value across three main dimensions:
- Economic & Operational Benefits
Administrative Savings: Farmers can save approximately 25 hours per year by replacing manual paper logs with automated digital recording.
Cost Reduction: Users can see an 8-15% reduction in insurance premiums thanks to the transparency of unalterable audit trails.
High ROI: In the first year, the system offers an estimated Return on Investment of ~108%, as the labor savings far outweigh the annual subscription fee.
- Security & Transparency
Verified Credentials: Machine operators have a “digital safety wallet” that instantly verifies their qualifications and training before they can activate equipment, reducing accidents.
Tamper-Proof Tracking: Use of NTAG 424 DNA tags ensures that the equipment identity cannot be cloned or faked, providing total certainty for logistics and maintenance.
- Environmental Sustainability
99.9% Energy Reduction: By using Polygon and Alastria networks, the platform is significantly “greener” than traditional Proof-of-Work blockchain systems.
Zero Battery Waste: Because the system uses passive NFC tags instead of active IoT sensors, it is estimated to prevent the disposal of 15,000 batteries over a decade
How is TrustChain supporting your growth and what role does it play for the next steps in your development?
TrustChain is the foundational pillar for AgriLink, providing both the technical environment and the strategic oversight necessary to transition from a technical prototype to a market-ready solution.
Strategic & Financial Support
Funding and Framework: Through Open Call 5 (OC5), TrustChain provided the necessary resources to develop a decentralized solution focused on energy efficiency and sustainability.
Ecosystem Integration: It has integrated the project into a pan-European network of innovators, fostering collaborations with partners like Alastria and European Dynamics to ensure the solution aligns with broader EU standards.
Validation & Credibility: The program provided the structured methodology for the January 2026 pilot phase, enabling the team to achieve Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 in a real-world operational environment.
Role in Next Steps and Future Development
TrustChain plays a critical role in the project’s long-term scalability and technical evolution:
Permanent Trust Anchor: TrustChain is evolving into a Foundation structure, which will serve as a permanent anchor for digital trust, ensuring that AgriLink’s blockchain-verified identity roots remain valid and sustainable.
Regulatory Alignment: It guides the project toward full compliance with upcoming EU mandates, specifically the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and eIDAS 2.0, positioning AgriLink as a tool for mandatory compliance by 2027.
Sustainability & Scalability: The program’s emphasis on “greenness” has solidified the project’s roadmap to replace battery-intensive IoT with passive NFC, a strategy now core to the 5-year expansion plan into global markets and NGO projects.
SSI Framework: TrustChain enables the next technical leap toward a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) framework, allowing operators’ professional licenses (like tractor patents) to be recognized across all EU member states.
By transforming immutable blockchain logs into actionable business intelligence, TrustChain ensures that AgriLink’s technological base translates into tangible prosperity for farmers and environmental resilience.
Why did you apply to the TrustChain call and has your vision changed since then?
We applied to the TrustChain call because its core mission—building a human-centric, decentralized, and sustainable internet—perfectly aligned with our goal of solving the digital and trust gaps in the agricultural sector.
Why We Applied
A “Green” Mandate: We specifically targeted Open Call 5 (OC5) because of its focus on energy-efficient DLTs. We wanted to prove that blockchain could be used in heavy industry without the massive carbon footprint typically associated with the technology.
Trust in Decentralization: We sought a framework that would allow us to build a “Privacy-First” solution where farmers maintain sovereign control over their operational data, avoiding the data monetization risks found in many commercial ag-tech platforms.
Regulatory Support: The opportunity to align our technical architecture with European priorities, such as the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and eIDAS 2.0, was a significant driver
How Our Vision Has Evolved
Since joining the TrustChain ecosystem, our vision has transitioned from a technical validation focus to a holistic “B2B Multiplier” strategy.
From Tools to Ecosystems: We initially focused on the technical pairing of NFC and blockchain. However, field feedback during the pilots in Puglia and Mauritius taught us that the real value lies in the “Human-Centered Approach”—simplifying the user experience so that the complex DLT layer is completely invisible to the end-user.
The Farmer-Operator Overlap: A major realization during the pilot phase was that in small-to-medium enterprises, the “Farmer” and “Operator” roles are often identical. This discovery led us to evolve our vision from a strictly role-based access model to a more flexible, context-aware “Streamlined Role Switching” interface.
Infrastructure as a Service: Our roadmap has expanded from simple machinery tracking to a predictive maintenance and rental engine. We now envision AgriLink as a modular library that can be adapted for construction or other industrial sectors where safety and qualified access are critical.
This journey has reaffirmed that “engineering trust” is not just a theoretical exercise but a practical necessity for building prosperity and resilience in the agricultural community
What is the most valuable takeout from the TrustChain project and why was the topic of the Open Call important to you/your team?
The most valuable takeout from the TrustChain project for the AgriLink team is the establishment of replicable patterns for managing heterogeneous physical assets on blockchain infrastructure. This technical and operational blueprint allows for a seamless bridge between the physical reality of agricultural equipment and a secure digital ledger.
Importance of the Open Call Topic
The topic of Open Call 5 (OC5), “Green, Scalable, and Sustainable DLTs,” was vital to our team for the following reasons:
Real-World Energy Efficiency: It directly addressed the critical need for energy-efficient Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) solutions in practical, large-scale environments.
Addressing Technical Gaps: The call allowed us to demonstrate that DLT can resolve real-world standardization challenges without the massive energy footprint typically associated with the technology.
Alignment with Strategic Goals: Our solution aligns perfectly with the goal of creating sustainable economic value while maintaining a high standard of “green” innovation.
Key Takeaways and Innovations
Beyond the technical patterns, the project provided essential insights into the human side of agricultural technology:
Streamlined Usability: A critical lesson emerged regarding the Farmer-Operator role overlap; in many small farms, the same individual performs both roles, leading us to innovate a “Streamlined Role Switching” feature to remove operational friction.
Sustainable Hardware: We proved that combining passive NFC technology (NTAG 424 DNA)—which eliminates batteries—with energy-efficient networks like Polygon and Alastria can achieve a 99.9% reduction in energy consumption.
Economic Resilience: The project demonstrated that digitizing administrative workflows can save farmers approximately 25 hours per year, providing a direct economic benefit that justifies the technology’s adoption.
The TrustChain project has not only validated our technology but has also provided a clear path toward a more transparent, efficient, and sustainable future for European agriculture.
What are your expectations regarding the TrustChain software ecosystem and its contribution to the NGI priority areas?
Our expectations for the TrustChain software ecosystem are rooted in the belief that it will serve as the definitive blueprint for a decentralized, European digital infrastructure that prioritizes trust, sustainability, and human-centricity.
Expectations for the TrustChain Ecosystem
We envision the ecosystem growing into a permanent and interoperable environment where niche solutions like AgriLink can seamlessly connect with broader EU digital services.
Standardization & Interoperability: We expect the ecosystem to provide the standardized protocols (such as EBSI-compliant Verifiable Credentials) needed to allow agricultural data and professional operator licenses to be recognized across all EU member states.
A Foundation for Trust: As TrustChain transitions into a permanent Foundation, we expect it to provide the long-term governance and technical stability required for critical industrial sectors—like agriculture—to move away from centralized silos.
Collaborative Innovation: We anticipate the ecosystem will foster a community of practice where open-source components can be reused and improved, reducing development costs for all participants.
Contribution to NGI Priority Areas
AgriLink is engineered to directly advance the specific objectives of the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative:
- Human-Centric Data Governance
Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI): By implementing JWT-based credentials and transitioning to EBSI-compliant standards, we empower farmers to govern their own data without intermediaries.
Privacy-by-Design: Our “Zero-Trust” architecture ensures that sensitive farm operational data remains off-chain in GDPR-compliant storage, while only cryptographic proofs are anchored to the blockchain.
- Greenness and Energy Efficiency
99.9% Energy Reduction: We contribute to a “Greener NGI” by demonstrating that industrial tracking can achieve massive efficiency gains (99.9% reduction compared to Proof-of-Work systems) by using energy-efficient PoS/PoA networks.
Hardware Sustainability: Our approach eliminates battery waste by using passive NFC technology, preventing the disposal of approximately 15,000 batteries over a decade.
- Building a European Innovation Ecosystem
Pan-European Reach: Through field deployments in Italy and Mauritius, and by fostering a network of over 30 pilot participants, we are helping set the European standard for a decentralized, human-centric agricultural internet.
Regulatory Leadership: AgriLink serves as an early adopter of the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and eIDAS 2.0 frameworks, ensuring that European ag-tech remains at the forefront of global regulatory standards.
By establishing replicable patterns for managing physical assets on blockchain, we expect to prove that DLT is not just a theoretical concept, but a practical tool for building a transparent and resilient digital future for all citizens.
What are the next steps for your team?
The next steps for the AgriLink team involve a strategic transition from technical validation to a commercial scaling engine, aimed at achieving full market maturity by 2028.
Strategic Roadmap (2026–2028)
The team has defined a clear phase-by-phase evolution:
Market Entry (H1 2026): Implementing the Joint Exploitation Strategy between MIICT and Proxim AI to launch the commercial SaaS model in Puglia.
Expansion (H2 2026): Scaling to over 500 active B2B licenses in Italy, focusing on multi-client logistics.
Evolution (2027): Aligning with eIDAS 2.0 and the Digital Product Passport (DPP) to issue the first verifiable digital histories for food batches.
Global Reach & Maturity (2028+): Expanding pilots to Mauritius and East Africa, and integrating AI-driven predictive maintenance to achieve a full TRL 9 ecosystem.
Technical & Product Enhancements
To stay ahead of regulatory and market needs, the team is prioritizing several high-impact developments:
Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI): Implementing W3C Verifiable Credentials to ensure operator licenses, like tractor patents, are recognized across the EU via the European Digital Identity Wallet.
Predictive Maintenance Engine: Utilizing blockchain-anchored usage logs and Machine Learning to predict equipment failure, reducing downtime and environmental impact.
Offline-First Excellence: Enhancing synchronization logic with mesh-networking capabilities to allow field operators to sync data between devices even without cellular coverage.
The Multiplier Strategy for Adoption
The team will shift from individual farm acquisition to a more efficient growth model:
Cooperative Partnerships: Targeting agricultural cooperatives (B2B) to instantly reach hundreds of member farms, drastically reducing customer acquisition costs.
Insurance Integration: Negotiating protocols with insurers to translate verified safety compliance into direct premium reductions of up to 15% for farmers.
Domain Agnosticism: Architecting the “Passive NFC + Blockchain” core as a modular library to expand into construction and industrial tooling sectors by late 2026
What is the message you would give to new and potential applicants to TrustChain Open Calls?
Based on our journey with AgriLink, the message to new and potential applicants is clear: TrustChain is more than a funding opportunity; it is a catalyst for transforming ambitious decentralized concepts into resilient, human-centric realities.
Here are the key takeaways we would share:
Focus on the “Human-Centric” Element: Do not just build technology for its own sake; focus on how DLT can solve real-world friction for non-technical users. In our case, identifying the “Farmer-Operator” overlap was a turning point that aligned our software with actual human behavior.
Prioritize Green Innovation: The topic of “Green DLT” is not just a trend but a necessity for industrial adoption. By proving a 99.9% energy reduction, we opened doors to partnerships that wouldn’t have considered blockchain otherwise.
Embrace the Pilot Phase: Use the field tests to break your assumptions. Testing AgriLink in the harsh winter conditions of Puglia provided more validation than any lab environment ever could.
Leverage the Ecosystem: Engage deeply with the TrustChain partners like Alastria or Timelex; their expertise in legal compliance and infrastructure is vital for navigating the complex EU regulatory landscape.
Why it is worth it
TrustChain provides the “Trust Anchor” you need to scale. It bridges the gap between being a “promising prototype” and a validated solution at TRL 7, ready to contribute to the Next Generation Internet
