Blockchain technology for sustainable supply chains of agri-food in Vietnam: a SWOT analysis

Abstract

Such a disruptive technology as the blockchain platform has a potential to provide value-added contributions towards multiple-disciplinary applications these days. Blockchain technology, considered as the second generation of the Internet in the digital age, has been applied in practice for various industry such as finance, healthcare, tourism, retailing, manufacturing, education, public sector, supply chains management, agri-food industry and so on. In which, supply chain operations, particularly agri-food management, becomes a prosperous beneficiary from blockchain technology. In the local context, Vietnam has been achieved the competitive advantages in agricultural production among the world in some agri-food products such as black peppercorn, cashew nuts, coffee, coconut, rice, and rubber. Furthermore, Vietnam is considered as one of pioneers in implementing blockchain technology for traceability and transparency of agri-food products across Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. However, design and implementation of the blockchain technology application in agri-food production in the case of Vietnam agriculture industry have been confronted with opportunities and challenges, besides its strengths and weaknesses in nature. This paper aims to concentrating on the analysis of Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of blockchain-applied supply chain relevant to agri-food products. In addition, the application of blockchain technology in supply chains has been expected to promote the sustainable development of Vietnam agriculture, in the accordance with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the 21st century. We adopt the research method of interpretive approach to synthesize the literature and reasonably induce research conclusions. We finally prescribe some policy recommendations and implications for agri-food stakeholders such as regional policy makers, agri-food based blockchain platform designers, executives, and farmers as users in relevant to facilitate the blockchain technology for agri-food chains in Vietnam agriculture.