Applying Blockchain Technology and the Internet of Things to Improve the Data Reliability for Livestock Insurance

Lihua Shen; Zhibin Zhang; Youmei Zhou; Yingying Xu

doi:10.3390/s23146290

Applying Blockchain Technology and the Internet of Things to Improve the Data Reliability for Livestock Insurance

Sensors (Basel). 2023 Jul 11;23(14):6290. doi: 10.3390/s23146290.

Authors

Lihua Shen^{1

2}, Zhibin Zhang², Youmei Zhou³, Yingying Xu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Zhijiang College, Zhejiang University of Technology, Shaoxing 312030, China.
² School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
³ Department of Landscape Architecture, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴ School of Humanities and Social Science, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.

Abstract

Animal husbandry is a vital sector in China's agriculture sector, contributing to over one-third of its agricultural output, and more than 40% of farmers' income. However, this industry is vulnerable to risks arising from production and operation, such as disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and market fluctuations. Livestock insurance can help mitigate these risks, but the lack of reliable data on shed environments has hindered its effectiveness. The objective of this study is to propose a livestock shed environmental regulatory platform that utilizes blockchain and the Internet of Things to ensure data authenticity, real-time monitoring, and transparency in the regulatory process. The platform also automates the insurance process, reducing costs and improving efficiency. The proposed platform employs blockchain to ensure data authenticity and devices to monitor and collect real-time environmental data. It also utilizes smart contracts to automate the insurance process, from negotiating and signing contracts to making insurance claims. The system's design rationale, architecture, and implementation are detailed. The proposed platform has been implemented and currently manages over 300,000 livestock animals with more than 350,000 insurance contracts signed. The use of blockchain and the Internet of Things has ensured data authenticity, real-time monitoring, and transparency in the regulatory process, while the automation of the insurance process has reduced costs and improved efficiency. The proposed livestock shed environmental regulatory platform has the potential to improve the effectiveness of livestock insurance in China by addressing the critical issue of data reliability. The use of blockchain and the Internet of Things has enabled real-time monitoring, data authenticity, and transparency in the regulatory process, while the automation of the insurance process has improved efficiency and reduced costs. This platform could serve as a model for other countries looking to improve the effectiveness of their livestock insurance programs.

Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT); blockchain; livestock insurance; smart contract.

MeSH terms

Animal Husbandry
Animals
Blockchain*
Insurance*
Internet of Things*
Livestock
Reproducibility of Results
Technology

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Zhejiang Province’s Collaborative Education Project for Industry-University Cooperation (2020161), Zhejiang Province’s Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, a Key Construction Project During the 14th Five-Year Plan (20230133).