Dimitra Day of Forests – March 21st is the International Day of Forests. It’s a good time to consider the critical importance of the rich, vibrant, and life-sustaining biodiversity that can be found in forests across the globe.

The International Day of Forests was established in 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly. The purpose of the day is to draw attention to the devastating effects of deforestation and to inspire communities across the world to participate in efforts of all scales to preserve our forests.

While more nations, organizations, and individuals have taken action on deforestation in recent years, much remains to be done. Keep reading to learn about the current state of deforestation and why forests are an important part of the solution to climate change.

Deforestation Statistics

Each year, approximately 10 million hectares of forests are lost as a result of deforestation. 10 million sounds like a lot — and it is — but let us put it into perspective for you. That’s the same size as the entire country of Iceland.

Deforestation isn’t the only cause of forest loss. Damage from insects is also responsible for the annual destruction of approximately 35 million hectares of forests.

The world cannot sustain this level of mass deforestation. If we continue on our current path, we will have only 10% of our forests remaining by 2030. That’s a short seven years from where we currently are.

A great deal of deforestation is a result of global demand for food. Forests are clear-cut and replaced with fields for cattle, palm oil, cocoa, and soybean farming. While deforestation poses a serious threat to our world, so does food shortage. Furthermore, we must develop solutions that address the needs of both.

Why are forests important? – Dimitra Day of Forests

The health of forests represents a critical vital sign of the health of our planet. These varied and adaptable ecosystems are essential resources that support the food, energy, and habitat needs of people across the world. They are responsible for cleaning the air, purifying the water, and maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystems that sustain us.

The importance of forests goes beyond what we can extract from them, however. They are salient spaces that facilitate life for millions of species and provide endless opportunities for cultural enrichment.

The sustainable management of forests is crucial in the fight against the climate crisis. Without healthy, abundant forests, we risk the worst-case scenario and make it even more difficult to face the challenges that lay ahead.

Forests are instrumental in alleviating poverty as well as countless other necessary economic, social, public health, and ecological improvement objectives. When we protect forests, we protect the world and everyone in it.

Dimitra Technology and Deforestation

At Dimitra, the driving force behind our collective vision is a more sustainable future. The connection between deforestation and food insecurity is undeniable. Moreover, our technology is designed to support efforts to limit damaging impacts.

Our Deforestation Certification Module is an upgrade to the Connected Farmer and Livestock Guru platforms. It is designed to make the traditionally complex and expensive deforestation evaluation process more accessible.

We’ve worked hard to make it even more beneficial for producers and traders to combat the climate crisis by allowing them to prove their goods are unrelated to deforestation.

Dimitra’s Deforestation Certification helps farmers, traders, operators, and consumer packaged goods companies ensure every shipment is compliant and meets regulatory demands. Using an innovative combination of satellite analysis, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and mobile technology, operators can detect deforestation, prove compliance, and reduce the risk of fraud.

Dimitra is proud to be a leader in agriculture technology solutions for critical issues such as deforestation. To learn more about how our technology supports the fight against climate change, visit https://dimitra.io/.

DMTR Token – With an estimated value of over $8.5 trillion, the agri-food industry is a space brimming with advances and technological evolution. Dimitra’s Connected Farmer platform democratizes access to farming technology to farmers in need globally.

Solok Radjo is a Cooperative benefitting from Dimitra’s Connected Farmer platform. The cooperative is based in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The agreement forged with Dimitra is catalyzing progress in Solok’s coffee market, especially in high-opportunity areas, including premium export markets.

This is all made possible because of the very strategic way that Dimitra’s business model was developed. And it all begins with the blockchain.

Blockchain, Utility Tokens, and Real-World value – DMTR Token

Blockchain technology may be the most valuable innovation since the inception of the internet. Tokens are a significant reason for this value, especially utility tokens. Utility tokens can create real-world value, a value not just relegated to digital exchanges.

Much of the value of a utility token is wrapped up in the success of a related project. In fact, this is why the Dimitra story is a compelling one.

The power of using blockchain technology helps:

• More farms and cooperatives use Dimitra’s technology
• The data repository grows
• That data feeds into (and grows) artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) functionalities
• The value to the end user (the farmer) in terms of reliable, actionable data comes to exceed the initial financial investment
• Farmers leverage services to expand adoption of additional financial services

Solok Radjo Cooperative is an illustration of even more value: cooperative leaders used tokens to buy their licensing. Over time, they will give tokens to the farmers in their cooperative, who can then use those to buy advanced features in the platform.

Dimitra’s Impact on the Coffee Ecosystem

Dimitra aims to serve coffee cooperatives exceptionally well, but we have additional ambitions.

Not only do we aim to partner with 1,000 cooperatives, but we also want to see universities (like Andalas University), soil suppliers, seed suppliers, and other key players in coffee come into our ecosystem.

By doing this, the value for all will compound exponentially, bringing a driving force for positive change into local communities around the world.

Driving Utility as We Grow

The ecosystem strategy described above is a strategy we’re passionate about, because we know it will work to improve the lives and businesses of the farmers we want to help.

For example, the Solok Radjo Cooperative is a great illustration that showcases the effectiveness of this approach. Farmers invest and should be able to clearly see how they will get a return on that investment.

Added Perks and Opportunities – DMTR Token

We have just launched a sponsorship program where anyone anywhere in the world can invest and provide licenses for farmers.

Then there’s this added perk: as farmers submit the data we need to enrich the community, they will be building a body of data that has a monetary value to the ecosystem. They can capitalize on that as we sell aggregated data on the Ocean Protocol.

DMTR: Reimagining the Possibilities

As a team, we recognize that we stand on the threshold of massive opportunities. Our sophisticated software and systems put game-changing tools into the hands of people who run the 570 million small farms around the world.

We are reimagining what’s possible, leveraging the power of emerging technology to reshape the future for worthy farmers around the world. And we won’t stop until every single one has gotten a shot to succeed.

CoinTelegraph Dimitra – As 2050 approaches, the global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion, necessitating a significant increase in food production. Unfortunately, the hunger problem persists, with over 1 billion people going to bed hungry each day in 2021. And experts say the issue has been worsening over the last five years. Fortunately, many experts agree that modern technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), can improve the world’s outlook on food production.

Climate change, which causes shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns. Is partly to blame for the change in the growth of crops and the availability of water for irrigation. These climate and landscape changes, in turn, lead to reduced crop yields. Modern technology can use satellite imaging to assess deforestation, and by differentiating between trees, crops, forested areas and clear cut areas, experts can identify zones that need protection and help enforce regulations to prevent further damage.

A second contributing factor to worldwide food production is crop performance. AI has also seen utility in its ability to improve crop performance by using spectral and radar based analysis from satellites. Combined with weather, planting and soil data, to make recommendations for maximizing crop yield. Machine learning compares data sets across different regions and aligns recommendations based on regional differences.

Agricultural experts are also using AI to support the productivity of animals, specifically cows. Which are influenced by a range of environmental, management and hereditary factors. Machine learning and statistical analysis are employed with some postulating to analyze and predict the traits that may be inherited as well as the resulting performance of the off spring from the mating of two animals. While parents contribute 50% of their genes to their off spring. Other factors such as nutrition, weather, water, disease, temperature, care and stress can also impact the animal’s performance. Technology can group animals based on these conditions and make predictions about their future based on the gathered data.

The gap between enterprise and small holder – CoinTelegraph Dimitra

Smallholder farmers across the globe hold significant potential in mitigating the global food scarcity crisis. But they don’t have access to the modern technology and data driven inputs related to soil, vegetation and weather conditions necessary for sustainable growth.

To put it in perspective. Almost one third of the world’s population are small holder farmers working on farms smaller than five hectares. Currently, these farms struggle to produce enough food to feed the residents living on that plot. Comparatively, in G20 nations. Farmers often have access to modern technologies that allow them to operate their farms as a commercial enterprise. Producing enough food for the family who resides on the plot and hundreds of other people. The result is a massive gap in land utilization.

To over come this challenge, there is a need to initiate a new age of data driven farming that allows farmers to leverage the power of technology to collect, analyze and use data to make informed decisions, but at a cost that is attainable by small holder farms. By incorporating data driven insights into farming practices. Small holder and family farmers can enhance their crop yields, increase their income and contribute to global food security.

Leading the world of AgTech

Dimitra, a global block chain based AgTech company, aims to bridge this gap by collaborating with governments and non governmental organizations through its Connected Farmer platform which will be made available to small holder farmers in developing countries without charge.

In working along side this mission, the Dimitra team shared:

“Every smallholder farmer, regardless of economic status, should be able to benefit from simple, beautiful and useful technology […] because when farmers thrive, economies thrive.”

The platform allows users to generate detailed dashboard reports, track farming activities and receive recommendations for better decision making. However, unlike traditional solutions, Dimitra is built on block chain technology in conjunction with mobile and machine learning algorithms to guarantee farmer anonymity, ensure enterprise level data security and facilitate secure track and trace. What’s more, Dimitra’s Deforestation Compliance Module and features like crop performance bring an all around performance enhancing solution to farmers across the globe. CoinTelegraph Dimitra

Dimitra Connected Coffee — Dimitra Incorporated, a global Agtech company on a mission to make its technology available to farmers globally, is working with Ahprocafe, a coffee association in Honduras that has more than 100,000 associated farmers and dozens of local cooperatives. They bring state-of-the-art technology to coffee farmers, specifically traceability and AI, adding value to coffee locally.

Honduras coffee

Globally, people consume 166.6 million 60kg bags of coffee a year. Moreover, Honduras is the fifth-largest coffee producer in the world. In fact, they are the main coffee producer in Central America. The unique climatic conditions attests to it producing superior qualities of coffee.

Some of these unique conditions are due to the altitude of crops, the artisan processes to which the beans are subject, and the preservation of the genetic purity of many of its beans. So, it makes sense that Honduras, which once only grew coffee as a family crop, is destined to make an impact in the international market.

Currently, coffee holds the greatest weight in the country’s exports and, consequently, the one that generates the most foreign exchange.

Although Honduras has good productivity per hectare, there is still room to evolve. Particularly in pest management and reducing climate change effects, ensuring constant productivity, and increasing financial security for the farmers.

Traceability for coffee

The bottom line is that more attention than ever is on the supply chain. When farmers can provide traceability for their products, they reach consumers’ new environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.

Dimitra and Ahprocafe will provide traceability for the coffee grown in Honduras by implementing Dimitra’s Connected Coffee Platform in as many cooperatives as possible.

This solution provides real-time track and trace on coffee beans throughout different levels of the supply chain, ensuring farmers’ operations are transparent and credible — attracting more customers looking for safe, premium quality coffee.

Data collection – Dimitra Connected Coffee

In addition to providing traceability and therefore increasing the value of coffee under Ahprocafe’s umbrella. Data is continuously collected to help the farmers predict, prevent and reduce losses due to pests, diseases, and climate change.

Combining satellite technology and advanced agronomic data with AI. Coffee farmers will receive customized recommendations to improve their farming techniques, forecast harvests, manage ripening timelines, and more. Most importantly, the data goes into creating reports for the farmers, helping them make informed decisions.

Calvin Funez from Honduras Conecta, Dimitra’s Honduras Partner, says, “We are excited to announce our alliance with AHPROCAFE, the first and largest coffee union organization in Honduras, as we have come together to provide state-of-the-art technology to small farmers in the country, helping them increase their yield, reduce costs, and provide traceability to their farms.”

Manfredo Villanueva, Ahprocafe’s General Manager, stated, “Ahprocafe seeks to strengthen the business capacity of affiliated coffee cooperatives, generate initiatives that allow us training support and potential market spaces, as well as develop marketing capacity through technical and technological strengthening. Within this framework, we faithfully believe that the alliance with Dimitra will allow us to achieve our objectives”.

Dimitra Appreciation for Women – Today, women make up about 45% of the workforce in agriculture around the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that although females represent anywhere from 18–50% of landowners, only about 12.8% of women can carry out the role of landholder. The two roles are different: a landowner is a person who legally owns the land; a landholder is a person who effectively operates and makes a living from the land owned.

Moreover, we know that in the coffee industry alone, up to 70% of farm laborers consist of females. But with gender pay gaps, local policy limitations, and insufficient access to the latest farming technologies, many women in agriculture today remain underpaid.

United Nations Women’s effort toward economic empowerment in all sectors promotes fair productivity, income equality, and a reduction in gender-based discrimination against women in the workforce. Today, on International Women’s Day, we’re shedding light on how women in farming are making this empowerment goal a reality.

Meet Fitria: Female Coffee Farmer and Educator in Indonesia

Fitria Syahroni, a 34-year-old woman in Sumatra, Indonesia, works at the buying station of Solok Radjo Cooperative. Here, she educates local farmers on how to properly plant and harvest red cherries (coffee berries). Her husband, Endro, works in the fermentation process.

Fitria is a second-generation leader involved in the Solok Radjo Coffee Cooperative. Despite being labeled legally blind in 2016 due to complications with diabetes, Fitria’s hard work greatly benefits her community. She works every day, communicating with farmers throughout the region and making sure they have what they need to improve their farming processes year-round.

When asked about her challenges working blind, Fitria shared, “I can listen, I can touch, I can smell, and I can talk. My blindness does not limit my goals and my purpose in life. I even want to do more. I encourage people to continuously learn, to never be afraid of making mistakes.”

Fitria’s Impact in the Community

For instance, the impact Fitria continues to have now expands beyond her immediate location at the cooperative. She currently mentors university and vocational students on the importance of responsible farming practices in the coffee industry. She’s part of the sustainability-focused Coffee Curriculum led by our agricultural technology company, Dimitra. Together, we’re helping liaise between local leaders and educators, improving farming curriculum preparation and delivery to meet new standards.

Fitria and her husband, Endro, are two locals who are championing the Dimitra Connected Farmer platform. What’s more, with access to the latest technology, they now know how to better manage their soil, farming schedule, and everyday operations. Together, they show how the Dimitra platform helps farmers make more informed decisions regarding their end-to-end process.

Fitria sets a powerful example of how women play a vital role in today’s agricultural leadership. Especially in the coffee industry, women are a major catalyst when it comes to stepping into more responsible, future-forward practices. Next, by shrinking the gender gap across agricultural lines, AgTech solutions such as Dimitra play a critical role in advancing change.

Women’s Work and Impact on Global Agriculture

What’s more, Fitria is one example of the millions of women who have positively impacted the agriculture industry around the world. Today, the positive impact women are having in farming grows stronger every day. Although women are often excluded from regional governance and major decision-making regarding labor policies, they continue to be strong forces in leading change.

To increase the impact women have on farming, several major obstacles must be eliminated. Primarily, this includes the lack of access to:

• Land
• Finances
• Market trade
• Agricultural training and education
• Suitable working conditions
• Equal treatment
• Fair wages

Before female farmers ever sow a seed, the lack of access to the above resources disadvantages them and limits their income. In fact, if women farmers had equal access as males in this vital workforce, it’s estimated that food production could increase by 30%. Like Fitria, however, women continue to show up, driven by necessity, passion, and empathy for their communities.

Furthering the representation of women in farming would benefit men and women, children and adults, leaders and future innovators. Without women, agriculture would not be the same. Throughout history, women continue to demand more inclusivity; more access to opportunities — it’s time global AgTech initiatives do the same.

Dimitra Appreciation for Women in Agricultural Technology

At Dimitra, we are passionate about the role women continue to play in global agriculture. From smallholder farmers in rural countries to software developers in the U.K., our growing community of AgTech pioneers includes many notable women worth recognizing.

Currently, Dimitra Technology proudly employs 3 women in Leadership, 4 women in Sales, and 26 women in Tech, Operations, Finance & Marketing. Moreover, the women of Dimitra contribute to the company like no one else could. They are consistently furthering the company and its worldwide mission.

Both in the office and in the field, Dimitra’s women deliver invaluable professionalism, purpose-led ambition, and innovative contributions to every person and farmer we work with.

What Women of Dimitra are Saying on International Women’s Day

Here’s what some of the women on staff at Dimitra are saying in support of today:

“I think that being a woman has equipped me with the skills of being able to break down and understand messaging in different ways. It is made me more aware of how we communicate with one another and the impact this can have on each individual who cares to listen.” — Roxy Cort, Director of Digital Marketing & Social Media

“I have worked in male-dominated industries in both my past and present jobs. And by doing so, I learned to navigate and represent myself in a way that makes me proud. My past experiences and interactions consistently shape the thoughts and feelings that I voice to others today.” — Cassandra Mellen, Communications Coordinator

“My purpose is to leave the world a better place… Changing the lives of those who are under oppression. I am passionate about my work.” — Tendau A. Dhodho, Business Analyst

“When I think of equality in the workplace, two concepts come to my mind: opportunities and salary. These two concepts simply mean giving women the opportunity to learn. And second, giving them a chance to enter the workplace by giving them internships. For example, for those who come directly from universities and of course making sure that women are promoted and well paid as per their valuable contribution.” — Nicole Musimbi, Business Analyst

From the bottom of our hearts at Dimitra: Thank you to all the women who play a part in feeding the world. You make responsible farming possible for all.

Dimitra AMA Morpheus – Our CEO Jon Trask recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Morpheus. Network’s CEO Danny Weinberger about all things Dimitra and Morpheus Network.

Take a look at the video to learn about what has happened in the last year. And what they are looking forward to for the rest of 2023!

Check out the video here: https://lnkd.in/g-78N8hi

Dimitra Incorporated 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.

Dimitra AMA Morpheus

By 2050 we will need to feed 9.7 billion people. In 2021, over 1 billion people go to bed hungry everyday. In the past five years this problem is growing, not reducing. One third of the world’s population are smallholder farmers, operating subsistence level farms. Typically smaller than 5 hectares and struggling to produce enough food to feed their own family.  In G20 nations, farmers have access to technology that helps them operate their farm as a commercial enterprise. Greatly exceeding their own family’s needs and allowing them to supply food to hundreds of people. There is certainly a significant divide which needs to be closed.   

Our current farming practices are less than sustainable, agriculture accounts for 70% of the world’s fresh water usage, farms generate a significant amount of pollution.  We have lost 50% of our topsoil in the past 150 years, this is coupled with loss of nutrients and salinity problems with much of the remaining soil. Educating farmers about leading practices is a challenge for governments, creating a means to educate and share best practices is a labor intensive process.

Subheading

Our current methods further threaten food security, over 1/3 of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted in the process… Poor storage techniques, losses in transportation and border crossings, waste in the markets and grocery supply chain are all challenges that corporations, governments and farmers are trying to solve. Food security issues exacerbate growing challenges with malnutrition, the cost of healthy diets are unaffordable to over 3 billion people in the world.

Smallholder farmers in many areas of the world struggle to make ends meet. These farmers can play a huge role in solving the world food shortage, improving food safety and addressing food security issues. Putting simple, beautiful, effective technology in their hands is our core goal. We want to help them improve their productivity with the power of information.

Dimitra Livestock Guru Pasture Management. In a world of evolving geological and economic conditions, the family farmer faces constant challenges when it comes to pasture management. From over grazing, to increased costs, to repairing damaged soil and land.

Now – through the use of cutting edge satellite technology, the Dimitra Livestock Guru platform gives the family farmer the power to optimize their pasture management, allowing them to:

Monitor grazing conditions to discover and implement a unique grazing pattern for their land.

Enhance soil quality by surveying damaged land and employing replenishment strategies.

Improve water and nutrient distribution.

Track seasonal conditions, measuring the effects of rain fall and temperature on their pastures.

Generate reports that track the vegetation density of their land, providing a year over year comparison of farm growth.

With the Livestock Guru‘s suite of enterprise level management tools, the family farmer can manage their land with confidence, maintaining optimal pasture performance.

Subheading

Dimitra Livestock Guru Pasture Management. In a world of evolving and economic conditions. The family farmer faces constant challenges when it comes to pasture management. From over grazing, to costs, to repairing damaged soil and land.

Now, through the use of cutting edge satellite technology. The Dimitra Livestock Guru gives the family farmer the power to optimize their pasture management, allowing them to:

Monitor grazing conditions to discover and implement a unique grazing pattern for their land.

Enhance soil quality by damaged land.

Improve water and distribution.

Track conditions, the effects of rain fall and temperature on their.

Generate reports that track the density of their land, a year over year of farm growth.

With the Livestock Guru‘s suite of level management tools, the family farmer can manage their land with confidence, optimal pasture performance.

Dimitra Climate Action – To limit dangerous global warming by 2030, scientists recommend that emissions should be cut by 43% compared to 2010 levels. But according to current projections, global emissions will likely rise by 14% this decade.

Collective urgency to take serious climate action is overdue.

This is by the fact that corrective climate activities are a top priority among some of the world’s most influential entities.

The United Nations developed a series of objectives that will obtain greater development around the world. These 17 are called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and range from ending world hunger to making quality education available to all.

Dimitra’s long-term mission aligns with these goals. SDG #13, Climate Action, is a major focus of Dimitra’s work with global agriculture.

Climate Action SDG

The SDG Climate Action is urgent action to combat climate change and its various impacts. Several key pillars of this goal relate to agriculture: education, awareness, and adaptive planning and management.

The lack of education about climate change and the limited awareness of responsible agriculture practices is a problem for farmers in both developed countries and under developed regions. It is imperative that these individuals gain better knowledge and tools, including:

• Agricultural technology
• Strategic operations
• Responsible sourcing
• Optimal farm management
• Connected distribution
• Impact reduction
• Early warning systems

Furthermore, to adequately negative climate impacts in the agricultural sector worldwide, communities and small holder farmers need resources that support farming operations.

Top Climate Challenges Farmers Face – Dimitra Climate Action

There isn’t one magical answer to develop, maintain and support solutions that encourage sustainable agriculture throughout the world. Agricultural climate problems are as vast as the loss of soil quality, lack of education, and rising green house gas emissions, to name a few.

Farmers need help reducing emissions, adapting to more resilient crop management practices, and implementing strategies that support long-term climate responsibility. It’s a slow process, as many small holder farms have very little access to sustainable technologies already in place.

Even in developed countries, conventional farming practices are far removed from long-term sustainability objectives. Global agriculture accounts for nearly 70% of the world’s fresh water consumption. Farming operations emit large amounts of pollution. Over the past 150 years, the earth has lost more than 50% of its topsoil due to monocropping, leading to a decrease in soil fertility.

Government-influenced farming education is limited, as greener practices aren’t as immediately profitable at larger scales. Farming is labor intensive, and smaller governments especially don’t have the resources to put toward education and leading practices.

Advancing Climate Action: Farmer Technology for Climate Responsibility

To get on board with intensive climate action efforts. Farmers have two priorities: wide spread education and supportive agricultural technology solutions.

At Dimitra, we give farmers the data driven mechanisms they need to ensure environmentally responsible change. One tool, the Dimitra Connected Farmer App, uses satellites to provide critical information to farmers:

1. Soil fertility data: Accurate satellite images show farmers which areas of soil require fertilizer. This preserves the amounts of fertilizer used seasonally and every year, allowing farms of all scales to prevent overfertilization and topsoil depletion. In return, farmers save money, time, and energy.
2. Predictive weather patterns: Precise weather predictions allow farmers to make informed decisions on when, where, and how much to water their crops. Accurate technology mitigates risks associated with harmful weather conditions and gives farmers actionable data to prioritize sustainability.
3. Crop health monitoring: Using satellite vegetation indices, farmers can remotely monitor the health of crops throughout their life cycle. Satellites monitor the farms to detect areas with uneven seed growth, aged or wilted crops, and diseased or pest infected fields. This helps farmers detect issues on the field before they get out of hand.
4. Tailored agronomy insights: Dimitra’s team of Ph.D. agronomists always analyze satellite, weather, and ground data to give every farmer recommendations.
5. Deforestation Compliance: Dimitra uses satellite data in its Deforestation Compliance Module, which allows operators to detect deforestation, prove compliance, and reduce the risk of fraud.

Subheading

Cutting-edge technology solutions aren’t a quick and easy fix — they are long-term strategies toward climate action. Our goal at Dimitra is to equip farmers with the information, digital tools, and practical farming methods that will trickle down into future generations.

Dimitra technology is already helping thousands of farms track daily farm activity, access data rich reporting, increase yield, and mitigate risks. We are working alongside governments and organizations that are leading the way toward climate action.

Dimitra Track and Trace – More than ever before, consumers and commercial goods traders care about where their food is coming from.

People want to buy products that are ethically grown and fairly made. Brands want to maintain best practices in everything from responsible sourcing to recyclable packaging. As a result, companies are changing business operations to ensure a more positive environmental impact.

Moving forward, many global brands will have no other choice than to meet new, sustainable practices.

In light of the recent European regulations on deforestation, all players in the global food supply chain are reevaluating their everyday practices. But, more importantly, they’re reconstructing existing partnerships with food growers, producers, and distributors.

Here’s a quick recap on the EU deforestation ban:

• Europe will no longer allow major commodities into the country if they’ve been sourced from deforested land past December 31, 2020. Commodities include soybean, coffee, palm oil, rubber, cattle, wood, cocoa, and more.
• Regional farmers, global exporters, and production operators will have a requirement to prove their compliance through due diligence statements, detailed risk assessments, and deforestation certifications that require GPS coordinates and satellite images. Failure to do so will result in fines or a complete ban on the shipment.
• When the law goes into effect, farmers and operators will have 18–24 months to adjust fully.
• Europe is the first to initiate such a law. There is an expectation that other leading countries will soon follow, with 141 countries pledging to reduce deforestation

These measures may seem strict, but they’re long overdue. If the world is to prevent further impact and reverse the negative effects of climate change, action needs to be taken now. Deforestation is one of the most significant issues to address first.

Dimitra has made the commitment to help farmers and global traders make the most sustainable transition through every change in the supply chain.

The Impacts of Farming, Producing, and Trading on Climate

As of now, deforestation accounts for nearly 10% of climate change. Furthermore, agriculture makes up about 90% of deforestation, contributing to biodiversity loss and global warming. Even with sustainable agriculture practices being put into place in areas around the world, more measures need to be taken to combat this overwhelming issue.

Harmful practices used in farming include the intentional clearing of forested areas for the use of crop growth. Slash-and-burn agriculture — a practice that burns down trees to clear the forest while also fertilizing the soil short-term — is not sustainable. Unfortunately, it’s still a common type of deforestation that occurs daily.

Beyond crop growth and harvest, the production and transportation of farm goods both further contribute to the rising impacts of climate change. The UN estimates that, as a whole, the agricultural industry makes up about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

To decrease this percentage, more sustainable production and transportation practices have taken shape. Namely, the careful tracking of produce shipments results in the prevention of food loss and waste.

In addition, these new deforestation laws place a greater demand on trackable and traceable solutions to ensure responsible farming from seed to final product sale. As a result, many agricultural operators are turning to Track and Trace to address these challenges.

The Importance of Traceability Throughout the Supply Chain

In between farm and fork, there is a complex system of processing and shipping protocols that take place.

In shipping, many logistics processes already utilize tracking and tracing methods to monitor an item’s location at any given time closely. Similar to the tracking number you receive for an online order, every product shipment has its own code that delivers location updates through transportation software. As its progression goes from one carrier location to the next, the delivery of live updates is electronic.

With Track and Trace for agriculture, the capture of essential data occurs across the supply chain. The tracing of products goes all the way back to their original source with exact GPS coordinates and is eventually printed on the blockchain to make the records immutable. The logging and tracking of vehicles, containers, packages and receivers throughout transportation occur electronically for accuracy.

This methodology allows shippers and receivers to identify products that are especially important in international trade. This prevention of mishandling or losing large quantities of produce also helps with unnecessary food waste.

Supply Chain Challenges – Dimitra Track and Trace

Nearly 30% of food produced for human consumption today gets lost or wasted somewhere along the supply chain. An important and growing concern is to note that farming is only the first step in food security. Production, transportation, and storage can impact food supply and shortages on an even broader level.

As a result of the many possible logistical issues during crop transportation, more than 800 million people are suffering from hunger today. It’s not that the world doesn’t have enough food to meet everyone’s needs. The reality is that food distribution is not as accurate as it should be.

This data is important so that commercial distributors and buyers can identify risks and responsibilities if something were to go wrong. Where is there a flaw in their supply chain process? What is the solution to fix it? And with the new EU laws on deforestation, is everything compliant enough to ensure the company stays in business?

On top of all these challenges, to continue selling products into the EU or exporting goods from Europe, companies will need to prove that their supply has no link back to deforestation. In addition, they will need to practice due diligence and provide detailed information determining they are within responsible compliance.

How Track and Trace Affects EU Deforestation Regulations

Now that the EU is implementing new regulatory standards for international trade partners, farmers must change and adapt to new practices at all levels of the supply chain.

GPS Track and Trace is now more necessary than ever before. Not only does it ensure fewer tons of produce get wasted or lost every year, it fairly evaluates the reality of deforestation on farms. This means new technologies are required for farmers, cooperatives, and commodity trading companies to prove compliance with the new deforestation regulations. They must show that the product — whether a crop yield itself or a derivative of it — was properly registered and came directly from the farm.

Dimitra has seen these inevitable regulations in development. We have developed agricultural technology software to provide the necessary proof for companies dealing with new climate compliance laws. But, more importantly, we’ve furthered our efforts to help farmers around the world adopt more responsible farming practices to avoid future harm to the population and the planet.

Through the Dimitra Deforestation Compliance Module, companies can effectively do the following:

• Obtain and deliver proof of farming taking place on non-deforested land
• Prevent fraudulent farming activity
• Keep track of deforestation and reforestation on farm properties
• Hold farmers accountable during further developments in climate laws
• Encourage more responsible land management practices
• Provide farmers with crucial data on the health and status of their produce
• Provide immutable and non-tamperable records on the blockchain

With Dimitra’s Track and Trace capabilities, operators can show the entire product journey through every step: the farm, wash plant, packaging center, vehicle transport overseas, and the final destination, such as a coffee shop.

Food for Thought

When it comes to food safety concerns, Track and Trace is also an ideal solution, especially with the capability to record information through the blockchain. For example, major companies such as Walmart have easily tracked recalled produce items such as leafy greens. Within seconds, companies can use traceability information recorded on the blockchain to address food contamination scares by stopping them at the source.

Cost is another concern among suppliers and consumers. People want to know how their food arrived at its final destination. Was the handling process sanitary and safe? Are food products in compliance with quality standards? Did the driver receive fair compensation during transportation? Track and Trace allow access to these important data.

AgTech Solutions: The Deforestation Compliance Module

Dimitra’s Deforestation Compliance Module answers these questions. It solves several important challenges regarding the new deforestation and safety regulations.

First, the Track and Trace feature lets people know where a crop originates and its growing method. Was the crop’s provenance reported for using unethical practices like deforestation, toxic chemical application, or child labor? Operations from each farm are logged and approved, meaning everyone from the trader to the consumer can know what types of farming occurred within the farm’s radius.

Furthermore, the Deforestation Compliance Module proves that a shipment of produce actually came from the designated farm.

Live Track and Trace GPS hits show crucial details such as:

• How many times was a farmer actively on the farm
• Location and number of livestock (using sensors and satellite data)
• Verification of packaging, vehicle, and shipment activities
• Where a product undergoes registration
• Certification that a Track and Trace report came from the farm’s legitimate location
• Everything is being printed to the blockchain, creating immutable records

How is this so groundbreaking? Currently, there are technology companies that provide blockchain technology and track and trace features across industries. There are companies that provide satellite tracking and geofencing of deforestation. But until now, there is no platform today that does both.

This is where Dimitra comes in.

Combining satellite tracking and monitoring, product Track and Trace GPS records, and compliance certificates all recorded onto the blockchain for immutability, the Deforestation Compliance Module gives farmers and companies everything they need to operate within EU regulations. It sets the standard for the future of digital tracking and compliance with climate-related agriculture laws.

Taking Traceable Steps Toward Positive Change

Every food company involved in the top global commodities such as palm oil, coffee, and coca needs to start evaluating their Track and Trace and compliance methods now. In the immediate future, levels of compliance with deforestation and other standards could make or break a business.

At Dimitra, we recognize that farmers deserve to stay in business. In fact, the world needs existing farmers — even if harmful practices are currently being put behind. Whether a smallholder farm needs accessible farming technology solutions or large-scale farms need to transition their partnerships, our digital tools are available to ensure success.

Moving forward, in order to survive and potentially scale in responsible ways, trackability and traceability are only inevitable. The time to make change is now.

On every level of operation, transportation, and supply, the future of food and farming depends on ethical compliance modules. Dimitra is proud to be leading the way.

“Changing the world doesn’t happen overnight, but with today’s Web3 tools like blockchain, artificial intelligence, satellite, IoT sensors and mobile we can start making an impact one farm at a time. A bountiful harvest begins by planting a single seed.” — Jon Trask, CEO — Dimitra

Hello Dimitra Community,

We hope you are well and are having a great 2023 so far. We appreciate your support, and we’re amazed at how many in our community have staked their tokens, indicating tremendous support for what we are doing.

Dimitra continues to build, and we continue to sign new deals for the Dimitra Connected Farmer Platform, Dimitra Livestock Guru Platform, Dimitra Connected Coffee module, and our new Dimitra Deforestation module with countries, cooperatives, and governments worldwide.

Here are a few of Dimitra’s highlights:

• Dimitra signed commitments with 16 nations.
• Dimitra signed a media partnership with Cointelegraph.
• Dimitra is now in 18 languages.
• Dimitra has built and deployed over 100 modules.
• Dimitra launched our first bounty program with Ocean Protocol in July 2022. Since then, we have completed Phase Two and announced the winners.
• Dimitra came out with a new “coffee” focused module in July 2022.
• Dimitra launched our genetics module for livestock in April 2022, and we just launched the Dimitra Livestock Guru platform.
• Dimitra has signed Bittrex as our latest exchange, and we’ve now listed on 5 of the top exchanges (https://dimitra.io/token/#markets).
• Dimitra raised $6.5 million USD in our presale token sale offering, and we announced that GEM has committed to $20 Million.
• Dimitra signed a media partnership with Cointelegraph to help get our message out to more communities across the world.
• Dimitra won the W3B & Blockchain World 2022 Entrepreneurship Award in the Industry Solutions Category.

(*** These are only a few of our accomplishments, and there are so many more)

The Dimitra Sponsorship Program:

We’re excited to announce the Dimitra Sponsorship Program.

We’ve listened to our loyal community of supporters and heard what you’ve said: that you’d like to be involved and that it’s important we show utility within our platform. Keep in mind that we can’t share all our news due to NDAs and conditions with big government contracts. We’d like to be able to, but there are larger considerations with some of our contracts, and they will show more utility over time. We’re also working very hard on our Farmer Points Program and will have updates later this year.

How The Dimitra Sponsorship works:

When you purchase DMTR tokens through one of our exchange partners (https://dimitra.io/token/#markets), you can move your tokens from our exchange partners to your wallet and then log in to the DMTR portal and do two things:

1. First, ensure your tokens are staked and receive up to 13% APY.
2. The next step to sponsoring a project is to log into the Dimitra Portal and click on the “Sponsorship” tab. Take some time to read about the program. The most important point to remember is that if you choose to sponsor a project, those $DMTR tokens will be locked for a one-year period.
3. To get started, select “Create New Sponsorship.” You will have the option to choose “Any Project” or a “Specific Project” to sponsor. If you choose “Any Project,” select the amount of DMTR in USD that you would like to use for Sponsorship.
4. If you choose to sponsor a specific project, be sure to select “Specific Project.” to learn more about each of the projects associated with this sponsorship opportunity, select the Projects tab.
5. When you are ready to choose the project you would like to sponsor, select the project region and the value of USD you want to contribute. Every 100 USD is one sponsored farmer. In addition, You have the opportunity to sponsor multiple projects.
6. Once you hit continue, you will be asked if you want to receive project updates.

Things you should know/things to consider:

When you choose to sponsor a project/region/farmer, your DMTR tokens are locked for a one-year period.

You will also receive a reminder notice/email one month before the end of your one-year term of sponsoring the farmer, asking if you’d like to continue supporting the farmer and project or unstake your tokens.

The default condition will be to keep sponsoring the farmer and receiving your yield for staking with us.

Everyone wins :).

You are also bringing real utility and adoption of our platform to the world.

Historically, there has always been criticism of “well-intentioned” projects that claim they will help without real transparency as to where their money is going (think of Haiti and the billions that went missing). We wanted to address this via the Dimitra portal (https://portal.dimitra.io/login). You’ll see which country, community, and farm you are helping within the Dimitra platform. You also receive a thank you letter from the farmers.

Why support the Dimitra Sponsorship program?

1. Make a real and tangible difference in the lives of farmers who need our technology but can’t afford it.
2. Empower farming families and improve their communities.
3. You’ll see how many farms you’ve impacted within the portal, which is pretty special.
4. Improve food security and sustainability.
5. Be part of a project that brings people together and real-world adoption of the Dimitra Connected Farmer Platform, the Dimitra Livestock Guru Platform, and our Connected Coffee Module.
6. Support Dimitra’s mission of being and delivering on being an ESG company that aligns with the United Nations SDG goals.
7. Be part of something bigger.