Traceability That Starts with the Seed: The Future of Food Safety

Punjab, one of India’s foremost agricultural states, is taking a significant leap toward innovation in seed certification and supply chain transparency through the use of blockchain technology. Under the leadership of the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC) and its subsidiary PAGREXCO, the state is revolutionizing the potato seed production ecosystem to meet national and international quality standards. With a focused approach to traceability and digital agriculture, Punjab is paving the way for a future where food safety begins at the very first step—the seed.

Seed Potato Certification Through Blockchain Technology

PAGREXCO has initiated a first-of-its-kind blockchain-powered traceability solution in collaboration with CropIn Technology Solutions to ensure that seed potatoes produced in Punjab are not only of high quality but also entirely traceable. This digital system allows stakeholders to track seed potatoes from the exact farm where they were grown, through various stages of cultivation, storage, and distribution, ensuring authenticity, compliance, and quality control.

Key Objectives:

• High-yielding quality seed: Enable production and multiplication of certified disease-free seed potatoes in sufficient quantities.
• Nationwide availability: Facilitate the availability of Punjab-grown seed potatoes to farmers across India.
• Compliance and transparency: Ensure all agricultural and regulatory standards are met, improving farmer trust and consumer confidence.

PAGREXCO Enables Blockchain Traceability through the integration of software and hardware-based digitization tools, PAGREXCO facilitates:

• Real-time farm monitoring: Using geo-tagged data and digital tools to monitor seed production at each step.
• Mobile-enabled field operations: Empowering field teams and farmers through dedicated mobile apps to ensure easy data capture, advisory access, and certification processes.
• Supply chain transparency: Enabling traceability from farm to market, improving accountability across the value chain.
• Climate-smart advisory: Delivering timely, location-specific guidance for optimal crop health and yield.

Farmers input various parameters during different growth stages using mobile applications. This data, once validated, becomes part of a blockchain ledger—immutable, transparent, and verifiable by all stakeholders. This creates an end-to-end authenticated trail of the seed’s journey, enhancing both buyer confidence and international competitiveness.

Punjab’s Unique Advantage in Potato Seed Production

Punjab holds a unique position in India’s potato ecosystem. With a production of 30.3 lakh tonnes from 1.10 lakh hectares in 2022, the state is not only a major producer but also a recognized hub for high-quality potato seed production. The state’s northern Doaba region—comprising Jalandhar, Kapurthala, and Nawanshahr—offers ideal conditions for cultivating disease-free seed potatoes. These advantages include:

• Low vector population (aphids and whiteflies), reducing disease transmission.
• Favorable agro-climatic conditions and optimal soil health.
• Absence of major potato pathogens such as wart disease, nematodes, bacterial wilt, and black scurf.
• Short-distance transportation for storage and distribution, preserving seed viability.

Due to these conditions, Punjab-grown seed potatoes remain disease-free for longer and are ideal for distribution across the country—especially to regions with less favorable growing conditions.

A Catalyst for Crop Diversification and Farmer Prosperity

In a state heavily reliant on the wheat-rice cycle, potato cultivation has emerged as a valuable alternative, offering improved income stability and reduced environmental pressure. The timely harvest of potato in Punjab aligns well with the sowing cycles of southern and eastern Indian states, ensuring uninterrupted seed supply.

Adoption of cutting-edge seed production technologies, particularly those developed by the ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, has been pivotal. Progressive farmers in Punjab have embraced these practices, resulting in a reliable and large-scale production of certified seed potatoes. Currently, around 60% of Punjab’s potato output is used for seed, reinforcing its role as a seed supplier to the nation.

Conclusion: Punjab’s Model for Agricultural Innovation

Punjab’s blockchain-powered traceability for seed potatoes is not just a technological upgrade—it is a paradigm shift in how agricultural inputs are certified, distributed, and monitored. By combining its natural agro-climatic advantages with cutting-edge digital solutions, Punjab is setting new standards in transparency, sustainability, and food security.

This initiative showcases how traditional farming states can evolve into agri-tech leaders, demonstrating that the fusion of technology and agriculture holds the key to the future of safe and sustainable food systems—one seed at a time.