University of Hyderabad to use blockchain tech for agri solutions

Hyderabad: Synchrony, a premier consumer financial services company, has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the University of Hyderabad (UoH) to help fund India's first blockchain project for providing financial services to farmers in need.

Farmers facing challenges in accessing funds due to income uncertainty and problems with monitoring asset utilisation, this blockchain project can bring all the parties together – from farmers to financing experts to simplify the exchange of information and payments, Synchrony said.

This three-year public-private partnership includes a grant from Synchrony to the university for the project which will focus on leveraging the blockchain technology to help lenders provide financial assistance to farmers with no collateral and fixed assets.

The main objective of the Blockchain project is to find ways on how technology can reduce the costs for marginal farmers who cannot access loans from formal channels of lending.

The project will be headed by Professor Vijaya Bhaskar Marisetty, Professor of Finance, UoH. He has been working with farmers during the last three years and has extensive insights into the problems faced by farmers and lenders in the country.

Dr. Varsha Mamidi, faculty member, Machine Learning, UoH, is a co-investigator in developing the blockchain. This will be India's first financial services-based blockchain for a group of farmers in Tamil Nadu, associated with SEEDS NGO and their primary lender Sammunati Financial Services (a leading Agri-based value chain financing NBFC in India). NIRMAAN.ORG, NGO, will coordinate the project.

"Through our partnership with the University of Hyderabad, we are helping to push the technology boundaries to help farmers reach their financial goals," said Andy Ponneri, Senior Vice President and Business Leader, Synchrony India. UoH Vice-Chancellor Professor Appa Rao said, "Such innovative models will help in bridging the gap between industry and academic institutions.