Smallholder farmers around the world continue to face significant challenges, including low yields, limited access to markets, and vulnerability to climate change. These challenges often result in poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. Jon Trask, the enterprising CEO of Dimitra Technology, tackles these challenges head-on through cutting-edge agricultural technology. 

Under Jon’s visionary leadership, Dimitra empowers smallholder farmers to increase their productivity, connect to global markets, and adopt sustainable practices—emerging as the Most Admired Leader in the Agriculture Industry For 2025.

A Vision for Sustainable Agriculture

Jon Trask’s journey into technology and agriculture began with a strong foundation in supply chain and logistics. Early in his career, he worked across industries like food, automotive, and consumer goods, addressing logistical challenges through innovative technology solutions. However, during these projects, he identified significant inefficiencies at the root of the food chain—particularly with smallholder farmers.

These inefficiencies—limited data access, outdated systems, and disconnected supply chains—are seen in industries like coffee, which depend on millions of farmers linking to global buyers.  Recognizing the need to modernize and enhance these processes, Jon founded Dimitra, a company dedicated to equipping farmers with user-friendly technology to promote food security, sustainability, and profitability.

“Dimitra’s passionate team aims to revolutionize the agri-food industry by developing innovative solutions for core challenges and fostering a more sustainable, connected agricultural future.”

A Farmer-Centric Approach to Tech

Jon emphasized that the technologies integrated into Dimitra’s platform—such as IoT sensors, satellite imagery, drones, and blockchain—are chosen with a farmer-first approach. The decision-making process begins by identifying the specific challenges farmers face, ensuring that the selected technologies directly address their needs and deliver impactful solutions.

Dimitra prioritizes tools that help farmers optimize resources, reduce costs, and improve decision-making. For example, satellite imagery and IoT sensors provide real-time insights into crop health and soil conditions, enabling data-driven actions. AI-powered models analyze this data to predict yields, detect pests, and identify optimal planting strategies, empowering farmers with actionable insights. Gathering crucial data points on the blockchain, Dimitra achieves transparency and compliance across the supply chain.

“The problem-first approach ensures that every innovation implemented serves a purpose, ultimately driving efficiency and sustainability in agriculture.”

Overcoming Rural Challenges

Connectivity remains a major obstacle in remote, mountainous regions. To tackle this problem, Dimitra ensured that its application works offline. Enabling farmers to input and access data in the absence of reliable internet services. In Ethiopia, coffee farmers utilize Dimitra’s offline functionality to sync data at local buying stations. Enabling seamless operations despite connectivity barriers. In some areas, Dimitra has even included the purchase of devices as part of the project plan to improve access.

Agricultural technologies are still in their infancy, creating a digital divide for small-holder farmers making it that much harder to build trust with farmers. Farmers are often hesitant to adopt new tools, especially given the rise in mobile apps and platforms, making it crucial for Dimitra to demonstrate the value of their solutions. Dimitra bridges the digital divide through localized workshops, on-ground demonstrations, and by illustrating tangible benefits to farmers. Ensuring they feel confident adopting new technologies.

Supporting Farmers in Transitioning to Sustainable Practices

Dimitra is committed to promoting long-term sustainability in farming through innovative technology. In South America for instance, Dimitra provides Surinamese farmers with real-time comprehensive farming data on their pineapple crop production and supply chains from end-to-end. By leveraging Dimitra’s offering, farmers have access to daily guidance on essential tasks, taking into account the growing cycle, weather, and other factors. From creating digital farmer profiles and registration with their demographic and plot details to tracking crop activities and managing harvests with traceability services, the platform aims to ensure that every step of the pineapple production process—from planting to harvesting—is traceable. The implementation of AI and scheduling tools enables farmers to optimize their practices, thereby prioritizing sustainability in their operations.

A major aspect of Dimitra’s sustainability approach is its carbon credit program. Which enables farmers to earn credits by adopting eco-friendly practices such as reducing emissions and improving soil health. These credits can then be converted into additional income, helping farmers earn a financial incentive to embrace sustainable methods. This program has helped increase farmers’ revenue by up to 30% per hectare, encouraging wider adoption of sustainable farming techniques.

Beyond carbon credits, Dimitra provides expert advice on fertilizer use, pest management, and disease control. To ensure farmers can balance productivity with environmental care. This guidance helps farmers maintain profitability while preserving the health of their land, supporting the long-term viability of their farms.

Dimitra’s impact extends to communities, as seen in Kenya, where the company is helping farmers transition to sustainable avocado farming. This shift to high-value crops has significantly boosted farmers’ revenue. From a few thousand to tens of thousands per hectare—while promoting a more balanced and resilient ecosystem. This combination of financial growth and environmental stewardship demonstrates Dimitra’s commitment to creating lasting, positive change in agriculture.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands – A landmark ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor on January 10th, 2025, has sent shockwaves through the world of ESG investing. The decision declared that including Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in 401(k) retirement plans breaches fiduciary duty. In a case involving American Airlines, this ruling challenges the growing trend of ESG integration in investment strategies, raising questions about whether this marks the beginning of a major shift or if it represents a minority opinion with limited impact. With ESG factors becoming central to global investment decisions, this ruling could potentially reshape how companies and investors approach sustainability practices as a whole. 

Korea IT Times discussed with Carlotta Costa, Director of ESG at Dimitra, to share her insights on the success of the ESG industry and its future. Costa emphasized the importance of leveraging technology, such as blockchain, to enhance transparency and sustainability. She dissected the ruling’s potential to create a temporary obstacle rather than a permanent setback for ESG policy-making, underscoring the need for robust ESG frameworks and stakeholder engagement. Costa advocates that the long-term benefits of ESG investments continue to be undeniable despite legal challenges, highlighting an ongoing commitment to sustainability and responsible practices as key factors for future success in the industry.

Dimitra Founder / CEO Jon Trask:

In 2025, crypto needs to focus on usability and real-world applications. The industry needs to move beyond speculative narratives and prioritize projects that solve tangible problems, such as supply chain transparency, financial inclusion, and climate resilience. I believe the key trends that we will see in 2025 are:

• Regulation and Compliance: The EU’s efforts to establish regulatory frameworks, such as EUDR, will drive the global conversation on this topic.
• AI and Blockchain Integration: By combining AI’s analytical power with blockchain’s transparency, new opportunities will emerge, especially in areas like agriculture and finance.
• Real-World Asset Tokenization (RWAs): The tokenization of assets like carbon credits, farmland, and commodities is expected to grow rapidly as blockchain connects traditional and digital economies.
• Africa and Latin America will be key growth regions. These areas are uniquely positioned to benefit from blockchain’s ability to improve access to markets, credit, and technology. Sectors like agriculture and supply chain management will particularly thrive as blockchain addresses the challenges of transparency and inclusion. 

As we navigate the 2025 blockchain landscape, I truly believe one of the greatest opportunities lies in leveraging blockchain for environmental and social governance (ESG). From carbon credit ecosystems to deforestation compliance, blockchain can empower industries to meet sustainability goals while driving profitability.

From its Malaysian factory in the state of Johor, Italian agro-food company Unigra makes ingredients from chocolate chips to cocoa powder used by confectioners for export across Asia to markets such as China, Taiwan and Thailand.

 Dimitra, a global leader in agricultural technology and sustainability solutions, is supporting the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop a smartphone application for Indigenous farmers in Suriname. FAO is working in the country to enhance organic pineapple production by leveraging blockchain technology to modernize cultivation practices, boost productivity, and secure market access. Leveraging Dimitra’s traceable and immutable technology, through this app local growers will access advanced techniques including mechanical land preparation and artificial flower induction to produce premium organic pineapples and meet market demands.

Dimitra is deploying immutable blockchain and AI technology to support FAO providing Surinamese farmers with real-time comprehensive farming data on their crop production and supply chains from end-to-end. From creating digital farmer profiles and registration with their demographic and plot details, to tracking crop activities and managing harvests with traceability services, the platform aims to ensure that every step of the pineapple production process—from planting to harvesting—is traceable. By providing a secure record of sustainable practices through actionable data, Surinamese farmers can gain access to advanced technology to transform agricultural practices, enhance market competitiveness, and forge key alliances, opening doors to premium markets that require stringent compliance with international standards. 

FAO has been working in the country since 2018 with UNIDO, ILO and UNFPA through the ASTA Suriname initiative has been driving the pineapple sector’s growth in Suriname, a focal commodity for the country’s economic growth. Backed by the Joint United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) Fund, the ASTA Suriname project has conducted in-depth analysis of farms and rolled out initial implementation activities. The project aims to empower indigenous and rural communities across Suriname’s pineapple belt to modernize organic pineapple production, transforming Suriname into a major producer and exporter of high-quality organic fresh and processed pineapples, and moving away from outdated practices with little value-addition and limited exports.

The innovation project proposed by FAO – to develop a digital traceability app to support indigenous pineapple farmers in Suriname – was funded by the 2024 Elevate Grant Programme of FAO, an initiative that fosters innovative initiatives for the agricultural sector targeting smallholder farmers.

The new app, already developed in local language, will be launched with the farmers and key stakeholders in early December 2024.

Jon Trask, CEO of Dimitra said: “Dimitra is dedicated to empowering smallholder pineapple farmers in Suriname with cutting-edge, easy-to-use technology to enhance agricultural productivity, promote sustainability, and ultimately improve the quality of life for these communities. Through the Agrifood Systems Accelerator (ASTA) and the Horticulture Innovation HUB of Suriname – a newly established public-private partnership providing multiple services to farmers in Suriname – supported by the Joint UNSDG Fund, we aim to foster a more resilient and equitable agrifood system globally and give consumers the origin story of their food.”

With 95 percent of its land covered in forest including parts of it forming a portion of the Amazon rainforest, Suriname’s interior regions face economic challenges, leaving many Indigenous, tribal and rural communities in poverty. Through the ASTA Suriname project, farmers are provided with hands-on training, and on-the-ground trial plots to showcase effective techniques like enhancing soil, optimizing inputs, and planting pineapples in beds. By using the app local growers in the country will be exposed to international markets, expanding the country’s economic horizons, and aligning with the responsible consumption and production of the UN’s sustainability goals.

Margherita Bavagnoli, FAO’s International Value Chain Finance Expert, oversees project activities among various Indigenous villages in Suriname: “So far, the ASTA Suriname project has equipped 120 marginalized Indigenous women and youth to take control of and benefit from the evolving pineapple value chain. There was a need to allow Indigenous communities in the country to reach markets, receive agronomic information and access services. This app aims to be beneficial in controlling deforestation, providing access to markets and information to farmers in remote areas, significantly contributing to the realization of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).”  

Jon Trask, CEO of Dimitra Incorporated and Margherita Bavagnoli, FAO’s International Value Chain Finance Expert, are available for interview on request.

About Dimitra

Dimitra is a global Agtech company with a mission to help smallholder farmers across the world. Dimitra works with governments, government agencies, NGOs, and for-profit organizations. The Dimitra platform is built on blockchain technology and incorporates mobile technology, machine learning, IoT devices, satellite and drone imagery, genomics, and advanced farming research. Through our data driven approach, Dimitra helps farmers increase yields, reduces expenses, and mitigates risk. Dimitra believes that every smallholder farmer, regardless of economic standing, should benefit from simple, beautiful, and useful technology.

About ASTA

The Agrifood Systems Transformation Accelerator (ASTA) program, led by FAO and UNIDO in collaboration with other UN agencies, aims to transform Suriname into a leading producer and exporter of high-quality organic pineapples. Supported by the Joint SDG Fund and driven by the Government of Suriname and key UN agencies, including FAO, UNIDO, ILO, and UNFPA, the program utilizes an inclusive and sustainable value chain approach. It connects local pineapple actors to new markets, fostering economic development in rural communities with a focus on gender equality, youth engagement, and environmental sustainability. Since 2018, ASTA has been developing Suriname’s pineapple value chain, culminating in a 2024 FAO Elevate grant to establish a traceability platform for producers.

Dimitra, a global leader in agricultural technology and sustainability solutions, is supporting the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop a smartphone application for Indigenous farmers in Suriname. FAO is working in the country to enhance organic pineapple production by leveraging blockchain technology to modernize cultivation practices, boost productivity, and secure market access. Leveraging Dimitra’s traceable and immutable technology, through this app local growers will access advanced techniques including mechanical land preparation and artificial flower induction to produce premium organic pineapples and meet market demands.

Dimitra, an AgTech project, helps businesses meet ESG goals with new blockchain-based services.

As the adverse effects of climate change become more visible every day, the demand for sustainable practices is also soaring. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are no longer an optional part of corporate strategy but an essential requirement for companies to remain competitive and credible. 83% of consumers believe businesses should focus on finding ESG best practices.