March 15, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Estonian startup GreenCrypto, in partnership with private investors and global family offices, has released a $600 million initial coin offering on four international exchanges with the goal of crowdfunding a more sustainable future through agriculture. 

AvocadoCoin is the first token of GreenCrypto’s GreenGold Project – a program designed to help fund the development of renewable and sustainable technologies that will help farmers make better decisions for their crops, and in doing so, reduce the environmental impacts of avocado production.

AvocadoCoin is also the first cog in what will be an ecosystem created to help generate mass micro-funds for the improvement of the planet, and a global reference for the development of disruptive ag technologies.

With its foundation in blockchain, fourth generation IoT, and Agriculture 4.0 (a term referring to the impending agricultural revolution), this crypto currency is rare in that it is backed by actual projects and individuals working to benefit and add value to society through technology, according to AvocadoCoin’s website. 

Under the symbol AVDO, the public sale of these tokens will fund the expansion of this project with the goal of strengthening sustainability across the whole avocado industry. And while technologies are already in motion, funding is needed to drive growth for Agro 4.0 innovations.

“Agriculture must embrace a digital transformation that is pillared by connectivity and dependability,” stated the company.  (This connectivity and dependability referenced by AvocadoCoin has the potential to unlock $500 billion in GDP by 2030, according to McKinsey – page 14.)

“The Avocado Coin will be a window of opportunity for the development of IoT and Agro 4.0 technologies that will enable the more efficient use of resources, applying crop monitoring in terms of irrigation, pest control, and other processes in the value chain that cause a third of the production to be lost.”

In recent years there has been a boom in avocado production, (particularly in Mexico, the world’s top producer) the fallout from which is outlined in a white paper titled, What are the Consequences of Avocado Production in Mexico? produced by Green Token for the GreenGold Project, and available for download on AvocadoCoin.com. 

By 2030, the avocado will be the world’s top traded fruit, according to the OECD and the UN Agricultural Outlook study. And while booming production has played its role in boosting economic development (providing 40,000 permanent jobs and 60,000 season jobs in Michoacán), these benefits have been generally concentrated, while being detrimental to indigenous communities through the marginalization of subsistence crops to make room for more avocado plantations, and resulting in environmental damage, deforestation and forest fragmentation, and the exploitation of natural resources. (Avocado farming uses approximately 9.5 billion liters of water, or the equivalent of 3,800 Olympic-sized swimming pools, per day).

Compounding these issues is the lack of transparency in the industry’s supply chains.

It is technologies such as AI, IoT, automation, and robotics that have the potential to arm the world’s food producers with the abilities needed to meet the UN’s SDGs, and the food demands of 10 billion people by 2050.

“Agriculture might be revolutionized by digital technology that helps farmers operate more efficiently, effectively, and sustainably,” noted the authors of the white paper. “They provide the agricultural sector the tools and knowledge it needs to make better choices and boost productivity and enable better agricultural product development, giving customers peace of mind and producers more value. Data-driven insights may assist enhance decision-making and behaviors, which can improve environmental quality and sustainability. Agriculture is transformed by digital technologies, including infrastructure and connection via mobile subscriptions and internet access in rural regions, by increasing and controlling access to money and resources using precise equipment more effectively.”

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– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.