Livestock traceability in New Zealand: Using blockchain to address current challenges in the industry

Deenamulle Kankanamge, Deepika Priyadarshani

Livestock traceability in New Zealand: Using blockchain to address current challenges in the industry

dc.contributor.advisor	L’hermitte, Cecile
dc.contributor.author	Deenamulle Kankanamge, Deepika Priyadarshani
dc.date.accessioned	2022-04-05T20:10:23Z
dc.date.available	2022-04-05T20:10:23Z
dc.date.issued	2022
dc.date.updated	2022-03-27T20:30:35Z
dc.description.abstract	The existing livestock traceability system in New Zealand hardly achieves the general goals of a traceability system such as managing disease outbreaks and tracking animal-based products from farm to fork. Further, users often complain that the New Zealand system is difficult to use. To overcome such issues in other parts of the world, blockchain-based traceability systems have been suggested. However, there is little research in the New Zealand context. This study aims to fill that gap by identifying challenges in the existing livestock traceability system in New Zealand, then evaluating if blockchain technology can address those challenges. The applicability of a blockchain-based livestock traceability system to New Zealand is discussed. Existing literature is used to understand the potential use of blockchain technology to address livestock traceability challenges relating to the themes of data management, relationships (among supply chain partners), transparency, compliance, and visibility. To understand the New Zealand context, participants in the New Zealand livestock supply chain are interviewed. Interview data is analysed using the themes listed above. Challenges gathered from the interviews are then compared with the challenges and solutions found in literature to evaluate if a blockchain-based traceability system would suit the New Zealand context. The results suggest that a blockchain-based traceability system supported by the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart contracts can dramatically improve the livestock traceability system in New Zealand by addressing many of the country’s traceability challenges. However, implementing such a system could initially involve a significant cost and necessitate changes to existing organisational practices. Further, workarounds should be sought for implementation barriers such as low network connectivity in rural New Zealand. Although expensive to implement, eventually, a blockchain-based traceability system could help industry manage otherwise expensive occurrences, such as food recalls, with less effort. Therefore, spending resources to implement a blockchain-based traceability system today can be a worthwhile investment for the future.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10289/14813
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher	The University of Waikato
dc.rights	All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
dc.subject	Livestock traceability
dc.subject	Agritech
dc.subject	Livestock traceability challenges
dc.subject	Livestock supply chain
dc.subject.lcsh	Livestock -- Monitoring -- New Zealand
dc.subject.lcsh	Meat industry and trade -- New Zealand -- Safety measures
dc.subject.lcsh	Livestock -- New Zealand -- Identification
dc.subject.lcsh	Blockchains (Databases) -- New Zealand
dc.subject.lcsh	Internet of things -- New Zealand
dc.subject.lcsh	Livestock -- New Zealand -- Databases
dc.title	Livestock traceability in New Zealand: Using blockchain to address current challenges in the industry
dc.type	Thesis
pubs.place-of-publication	Hamilton, New Zealand	en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor	The University of Waikato
thesis.degree.level	Masters
thesis.degree.name	Master of Management (MMgmt)