# Blockchain Applications in Agriculture: A Scoping Review
###### Abstract  
Blockchain is a distributed, immutable ledger technology initially developed to secure cryptocurrency transactions. Following its revolutionary use in cryptocurrencies, blockchain solutions are now being proposed to address various problems in different domains, and it is currently one of the most \"disruptive\" technologies. This paper presents a scoping review of the scientific literature for exploring the current research area of blockchain applications in the agricultural sector. The aim is to identify the service areas of agriculture where blockchain is used, the blockchain technology used, the data stored in it, its combination with external databases, the reason it is used, and the variety of agricultural products, as well as the level of maturity of the respective approaches. The study follows the PRISMA-ScR methodology. The purpose of conducting these scoping reviews is to identify the evidence in this field and clarify the key concepts. The literature search was conducted in April 2021 using Scopus and Google Scholar, and a systematic selection process identified 104 research articles for detailed study. Our findings show that in the field, although still in the early stages, with the majority of the studies in the design phase, several experiments have been conducted, so a significant percentage of the work is in the implementation or piloting phase. Finally, our research shows that the use of blockchain in this domain mainly concerns the integrity of agricultural production records, the monitoring of production steps, and the monitoring of products. However, other varied and remarkable blockchain applications include incentive mechanisms, a circular economy, data privacy, product certification, and reputation systems. This study is the first scoping review in this area, following a formal systematic literature review methodology and answering research questions that have not yet been addressed.  
blockchain; distributed ledger technology; agriculture; scoping review; PRISMA-ScR 202220  
and infected 205 people, 3 of whom died [8]. The remarkable thing was that it took more than three weeks to find out where the infection came from, while the consequences on the market were incalculable. Consequently, traceability in the production line has a critical role [6]. Of equal importance is the monitoring, recording, and control of essential parameters that cover the entire product's life cycle [9]. In addition, in the last decades, consumers have begun to be interested in the origin, certification, and quality of products in terms of the importance and attention given when making market decisions [10]. Another major challenge nowadays is food waste due to the expiration of products. For example, the European Union discards about one-third of the production, which is equivalent to 88 million tonnes [11]. Finally, an open-ended issue over time is the equal pay for producers and the fair trade of products [12].  
In short, in agriculture, there are still open issues regarding product traceability and monitoring, trust among supply chain parties, equal pay for producers, production sustainability, and other issues. Thus, blockchain could be a potential technology that can treat most of these issues, with an emphasis on providing greater security to existing or new solutions in this direction.