The food supply chain in South Africa faces significant challenges related to transparency, traceability, and consumer trust, exacerbated by growing concerns about food safety, quality, and sustainability. As these concerns grow, there is an increasing need for innovative solutions to address these issues. Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising tool that can enhance the transparency and accountability of the food supply chain. This study sought to explore how blockchain technology might revolutionize the development of sustainable food supply chain infrastructure in South Africa. The study found that blockchain technology used in the food supply chain creates an immutable and decentralized ledger of transactions that has the capacity to provide real-time, end-to-end visibility of food products from farm to table. This increased transparency can help mitigate risks associated with food fraud, contamination, and inefficiencies in the supply chain. The implementation of blockchain can improve supply chain efficiency and foster trust among stakeholders, including farmers and food suppliers. This technology used and/or applied in South Africa can reshape the agricultural sector by improving production and distribution processes. Its integration in the food supply chain infrastructure can equally improve data management and increase transparency between farmers and food suppliers. There is a need for policymakers and scholars in the fields of service delivery and food security to conduct more research in blockchain technology and its roles in creating a more transparent, efficient, and trustworthy food supply chain infrastructure that addresses food supply problems in South Africa. The paper adopted a qualitative methodology to collect data, and document and content analysis techniques were used to interpret collected data. This study lays the groundwork for further investigation into blockchain’s potential to shape the future of food supply networks.

blockchain technology; food supply chain infrastructure; transparency; food safety and consumer trust; fraud prevention and agricultural innovation

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