## 2 Materials and Methods  
In answering the research question proposed in this study, the methodology was divided into two phases and classified into two approaches. The first phase considers exploratory and qualitative research (Figure 1). In this stage, interviews were conducted with Brazilian experts who are somehow involved with the development and application of blockchain technology in agribusiness. The interviews sought to understand the perception of experts about the benefits, disadvantages, challenges, and opportunities of blockchain technology in order to qualify the objective answers. A semi-structured interview script was used to collect information from experts and researchers on blockchain technology (See Supplementary Material S1). The script was designed based on the concepts found in the literature reviewed. Interviewees needed to understand blockchain technology, its structure, and the agribusiness sector. The semi-structured interviews allowed the interviewer to steer the questions in the direction best suited to the agribusiness context. The interviews were conducted with 10 specialists, six in person and four remotely via web conference (Skype), in January 2020, with an average duration of 50 min. After the interviewees' permission, the interviews were recorded and later transcribed in a text editor to be analyzed. The respondents are managers, coordinators, developers, or researchers with knowledge of programming, technology, and business models. They were collaborators from many companies and universities. All interviewees were involved in blockchain technology development or implementation activities or were university researchers with research projects on the topic (see Table 1). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline
**Expert** & **Education and Background** & **Working on...** &...** &...**at the Organization** \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{1} & Electrical Engineer, MSc and PhD in & & Universidade Federal do Rio Grande \\  & Computer Science & Computer networking and security & do Sul—UFRGS, Institute of \\  & & & Informatics and Graduate Program \\  & & & in Computing \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{2} & Economist and MSc in Business & & \\  & Management. Background in Risk & & \\  & Management, Foreign Trade and & & of specialists & \\  & International Business, & & \\  & Alternative Energy & & \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{3} & Accountant, MSc and PhD in & & Universidade Federal do Rio Grande \\  & Administration—Systems & & do Sul—UFRGS, \\  & Management and & & Accounting and information system & \\  & Information Technology & & Accounting Department \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{4} & Economist, PhD in Economic & & Universidade Federal do \\  & Development, Space & & \\  & and Environment & & \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Profile of the professionals interviewed in the first phase of the research. Figure 1: The framework of methodological phases and procedures carried out in the research. Source: elaborated by the authors. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis techniques. First, the content of the interviews was grouped into categories related to the benefits, disadvantages, challenges, and opportunities of applying blockchain technology in agribusiness. Subsequently, this information was used in preparing a questionnaire with a Likert scale to be applied in the second methodological stage of the study. The second phase of the research was quantitative, and the information collected via interviews was organized into a questionnaire with a Likert scale. The questionnaire was developed in a digital platform and sent to the personal e-mail of the 10 experts who had participated in the interviews in the first stage (January 2020). The response rate was 60%, considering six experts answered the questionnaire in October 2022.