Implementation of Blockchain Technology in Agriculture: Fashionable Trends or Requirements of the Modern Economy

Purpose. The purpose is to reveal the theoretical and practical aspects of the implementation and application of blockchain technology in the economic activity of agricultural enterprises, taking into account the economic feasibility of their implementation and determining the system of elements of the implementation of blockchain technology in agriculture. Methodology / approach. The following methods were used during the research: analysis and synthesis, scientific abstraction – when determining the goal and formulating research conclusions; comparative, calculation, statistical and graphic – when evaluating, analyzing, comparing and determining the current state of implementation of blockchain technology in the economic activity of agricultural enterprises. The method of surveying agricultural producers regarding their awareness of blockchain technology and the benefits of its application was also used. The research used: a theoretical approach (based on the analysis of theoretical aspects of blockchain technology and its application in agriculture) and a practical approach (on the basis of the proposed methodology, the economic feasibility of using blockchain technology in the economic activity of an agricultural enterprise was determined). Results. The main areas of influence of blockchain technology in agriculture have been determined. It has been established that every year the amount of funding for the implementation of blockchain technology is increasing, and the reasons are identified. The world experience of implementing blockchain technology in the economic activity of agricultural producers is considered. The results of a survey of agricultural producers of the Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions regarding their awareness of blockchain technology and the benefits of its implementation are highlighted. The objective reasons that affect the implementation of blockchain technology in agricultural production are determined and ways of its popularization are proposed. An action algorithm for the introduction of blockchain technology for agricultural producers has been developed. Agricultural producers who are potentially ready and financially able to implement this technology in their activities have been identified. The main factors affecting the cost of implementing blockchain technology in agricultural production have been identified. A methodology for calculating the economic feasibility of implementing blockchain technology according to optimistic and pessimistic options is proposed, and the calculation of the net present value, payback period, discounted payback period of the project, internal rate of return and the rate of return on the example of a specific enterprise of the Mykolaiv region is carried out. Based on theoretical and practical approaches, a system of elements for implementing this technology in agriculture has been developed. Originality / scientific novelty. The novelty consists in the implementation of a comprehensive theoretical study of the problems and prospects of the implementation of blockchain technology in agriculture; for the first time, a system of elements for the implementation of blockchain technology in agriculture was developed; an algorithm of actions for agricultural enterprises that plan to implement this technology was improved; a methodology for calculating the economic feasibility of implementing blockchain technology in an agricultural enterprise was proposed. Practical value / significance. The results can be used in the process of decision-making by business entities regarding the implementation of blockchain technology and the calculation of its economic feasibility, during the optimization of the processes of management of production, financing, supply chains, etc., as well as by scientists, government bodies and other entities that are interested in implementation of blockchain technology in agriculture.