Blockchain and IPFS: A Permanent Fix for Tracking Farm Produce

Blockchain technology makes it possible to track the provenance of food items from the farm to the table with greater accuracy. The adoption of blockchain technology has the potential to significantly reduce the risks to food safety posed by fraud, disorganization, and a lack of norms. The advent of blockchain technology will fundamentally alter our understanding of and reliance on provenance. Traceability in the food industry refers to the process by which a product can be followed from its initial production location through the entire distribution chain to the final customer. Some of the challenges are discussed in Table 1.

Table 1. Challenges in traceability system

2.1 Blockchain preliminaries

Blockchain is public, immutable, anonymized, encrypted, and decentralized. A P2P distributed public ledger is maintained by all network participants using Merkle trees and secure hash techniques. Peer node records are kept on shared ledgers. Papers are grouped to produce a block that has been consensus-validated [6]—the digital ledger stores data as a collection of connected, separate chunks, as shown in Figure 1. A distinct block is generated and added to the chain whenever fresh information is uploaded to the system [7]. There can be no inconsistency if each computer (node) in the network does not regularly update its copy of the public blockchain.

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Figure 1. Structure of the blockchain

Adding new blocks is one of the fundamental characteristics of blockchain that contributes to its extraordinary security [8]. This is so that a new node can join the blockchain only after a participating node has confirmed and authenticated the accuracy of all pre-recorded data. This may entail proving that all freshly recorded transactions inside a block of digital currency exchanges are genuine and that no funds have been spent more than once. However, you can modify a single database or spreadsheet. The distributed ledger stores the block's records if everyone agrees [9]. For confirming data modifications, nodes receive new blockchain currency.

The Merkle binary hash tree was fundamental to the Blockchain's design, first introduced in 1987 [10]. Branches in a Merkle tree are known as leaves, and each leaf represents a unique piece of information. An R-record leaf with a 2R-1 inner node is evaluated with the help of the cryptographic hashing function Has(). The intricacy of a tree with R = 2s nodes is s = log R. Furthermore; the entire hierarchy may be traced back to a single, distinct root node located at height s = 0. Claiming that the tree can be summed up in the root value $S^{\prime}$ is a claim on the validity of all its nodes and leaves. T is a set of s' units over the entire hierarchy, and it conforms to each descendant node c at depth s' in such a way that:

$S^{\prime}=\operatorname{Has} F_t(c, T)$      (1)

$S^{\prime}=H a s f_t(d, T)$       (2)

where, HasF_t is a series of s’ function Has(.) in (1). An adversary keeping a Cryptographic tree for proof stores the whole tree, while a validator supports the base node $S^{\prime}$. The verifier of node c in the tree gives the tokens T for all of the other tree's nodes. Considering this, it follows from (2) that the given expression $c \in S^{\prime}$, whose c would be the current root. With knowledge of the existing state $S^{\prime}$, each reorganization of the current node d to d' results in a gradual improvement state from $S^{\prime}$ near S = Has f_t (d', Td).

A numerical set with a static output is converted to a group of dynamic inputs via hashing methods [11]. Hashing algorithms are used for data authentication, throughput comparison, and other purposes. They are frequently used to safeguard data.

The lack of adequate system administration and administration on the side of decentralized cloud services and a severely constrained selection of cloud suppliers are the most critical elements leading to the current issues with cloud storage [28]. The challenging disc position of a backup file may match the hard disc position of the source file even when both files are stored on the same cloud storage device if the cloud storage devices are centrally located. In the occurrence of a blackout or other disruption, the systems would fail by becoming inaccessible externally, leaving users with little choice but to delay till normal service is restored. Internet Protocol File System (IPFS) is a more modern Internet protocol than the more traditional Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), despite its lack of restrictions. It operates on the principle that data in a file can be split up into smaller pieces and then retrieved in order from different servers over a P2P network.

Clients from beyond the connection can still join the network and get data even if specific servers are out. And even if specific nodes' data is lost forever due to an error, the network has multiple backups. Conventional centralized public clouds have several drawbacks that IPFS can help fix, such as a higher risk of data loss, older technology, and a need for more customer feedback. To keep the capacity to trace the provenance of agricultural products, backup transaction data must be protected with strict security measures. IPFS, a distributed file storage technology, provides more reliable recovery than cloud storage by dividing a file into multiple portions and dispersing them over the network.

Monitoring in the food supply chain is greatly aided by blockchain technology since it ensures the transparency of the data kept in IPFS. In this section, we use the blockchain to keep tabs on and execute the transactions associated with the NPF supply chain items, thereby reducing reliance on a centralized database. We can accomplish this using smart contracts and IPFS system logs. This is possible with the use of smart contracts and the IPFS ledger.

4.1 System model overview

The NPF supply chain includes consumers, distributors, retailers, manufacturers, and logistical service providers among its participants. The system's governing design distributes the traceability system's keys among all users. Consumers trust in the safety of non-perishable agricultural goods can be increased by giving them detailed information about farm commodities via a traceability system. In order to transparency of agricultural goods, the linkages between produce, manufacturing, marketing, commerce, transportation, and selling are detached in this article.

To complete the supplied link, the non-perishable agri-food must first be cultivated, transferred, irrigated, fertilized, and harvested. In addition, it necessitates essential recording data, such as specifics on seedlings, planting methods, climate changes, and goods transactions. In the production plant, NPF products are categorized, weighed, packaged, marketed, and exposed to various other procedures. Additionally, it entails maintaining records of information regarding NPF products, manufacturing procedures, process criteria, product trades, and further crucial details. The dispersion unit moves the entire cargo from one location to several others. The company takes considerable care while handling item delivery to the customer. Producing, processing, distributing, and retail all involve the utilization of transit.

Bureaus of law regulations can investigate occurrences regarding the quality and safety of agricultural products and pinpoint the primary persons responsible for the misdeeds. Blockchain's distributed, unchangeable, and trackable nature is put to use in the process of traceability. This allows for validating the authenticity of provenance information in agriculture product control systems. The NPF goods tracking system, built on the blockchain, stores information about agricultural product cultivation, processing, transportation, and sales. Figure 2 depicts the architectural plan for the blockchain-based NP agro products monitoring system. Any consensus-based blockchain tracing system worth its salt will need the blessing of the appropriate authorities. After signing up, you'll be given the go-ahead. Once everyone has registered, they can share information about the provenance of individual and NP products. A comparison tool is available to see if the news on your line of possession has been altered.

The system has critical authentication, contracts that consumers, access control rate, and data analysis. Adding data to blockchains and accessing that data is the most fundamental use case for smart contracts. Smart contracts are capable of immediately commencing executing a transaction. The platform's flexible enough to accept data from various sources, allow clients to query provenance information, and satisfy the needs of regulators. To avoid a blockchain storage explosion, we save everything on IPFS. After a consensus is obtained, the IPFS hash value is stored in the ledger.

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Figure 2. Tracking system based on the blockchain

4.2 Protected data storage with IPFS

The current approach for storing information in the blockchain provenance system is an instant recording of the tracing data for each method of producing agricultural goods onto the blockchain. When there are more nodes in a blockchain, there are more transactions that need to be saved [29]. This means that more space will be required to keep them. Because of the unique structure of the blockchain, users that are part of the same blockchain community have access to all of the blockchain's data. This is true regardless of how effective the users' queries are.

This article presents a way for a blockchain tracking system for NP agricultural items that combines secured personal data storage with hash caching for public data. The goal of the paper is to find a solution to the challenges that have been identified. Data on the origin of products is just one component of the vast dataset about the supply chain. This dataset also contains critical information only available to parties with the appropriate authorization.

Concerns regarding protecting customers' data are frequent among companies competing with one another. Details on the product itself, its manufacturer, retailer, and logistics providers, as well as its price, date of manufacturing, and provenance, may be among the information available to the public. In the context of this article, Algorithm 1 illustrates the process of data entry into the blockchain to safeguard the information that can be traced back to its source. The information that is considered to be the most critical is first encrypted with the assistance of a smart contract. After that, the relevant hash code of publicly available data is appended to the ledger, permanently recording the transaction.

The Authenticated Encryption Mode(AEM) of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is used to secure the vital data set "In_data". The required Key, "Key_Ran," is randomly selected through a smart contract, which generates and sends an encrypted substitution cipher to the network. Elliptic Curve Cryptography is used to encrypt the Key to ensure its security. The encrypted Public Key, or "P_K," approved the watching defer of data to IPFS, including critical and open data. As shown in Figure 3, the current iteration of the smart contract keeps a pair of credentials, the Private Key and Public Keys of the Verified Monitoring Endpoints, transmitted to the blockchain as IPFS hashes. Once the correct nodes have access to the secret information, the source Key decodes the data so it can be viewed. To decrypt the ledger key encryption, the current station uses its private key, called "Pi_K".

Algorithm 1

Input: Players ID, Out_data, In_data, Public Key, Private Key.

Output: The hash value kept in the distributed ledger.

1. Players ID → PID
2. If 
3. In_data! = Null then
4. Randomly generate a key (Key_Ran)
5. In_data → Enc (AEM (In_data, Key_Ran))
6. Enc_key→Enc (ECC (Key_Ran, P_K))
7. Overall (In_data + Out_data) → IPFS
8. Hash (In_data) + Hash (Out_data) → DL
9. End If
10. If
11. In_data == Null then
12. Hash (Out_data) → DL
13. End If
14. To receive the information by querying
15. If
16. Data to be retrieved
17. Dec_key→Dec (ECC (Key_Ran, Pi_K))
18. DL → Trace_Data
19. End
20. End

A rise in transmission costs and a possible increase in the likelihood of data leakage are both possible outcomes of the widespread use of delegated decryption keys. The size of the encrypted message is also taken into consideration, as it has a direct bearing on storage fees. Many essential assignment techniques make use of previously-classified files to produce decryption keys. When a new file format is added to the server, it's necessary to adjust the categories in which the files are stored. A user can also modify the criteria used to classify items. It is impossible to modify key accumulation encryption to fit the new requirements. In some cases, the size of the ciphertext and the corresponding decryption keys may be predetermined by our encryption method. Also, because our system permits regular file upgrades, this doesn't affect how the files are organized.

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Figure 3. Storage of public and critical data

We built and evaluated a blockchain-based food supply chain monitoring system. We looked at both the querying structure and the storing structure. The blockchain traceability system lacks private security and limited data storage capacity. Both on-chain and off-chain file storage have been recommended to address these issues. A hash value representing the public IPFS data from the supply chain is transmitted to the ledger system. A distributed ledger called the blockchain allows participating companies to exchange information securely. To reduce the volume of data the supply chain must process, this model's storage solution considers the need for open procurement monitoring and data protecting personal corporate data. The system will immediately check the Tracking number against a public database if the product's details have changed since the client last did so. It's feasible that test networks, platforms, and sharding will emerge as blockchain technology advances. Future studies will concentrate on platforms that connect various platforms and a new method of tracking consensus.