TRST01 develops open blueprint for agricultural traceability
Technology firm TRST01 has unveiled the Open AgriTrace Stack (OATS), a digital infrastructure blueprint commissioned by the World Bank to enhance food supply chain transparency.
Technology company TRST01 has announced the development of the Open AgriTrace Stack (OATS), a blueprint for digital public infrastructure (DPI) in agricultural traceability. The project was commissioned by the World Bank and has been published under a Creative Commons license. The primary objective of this initiative is to strengthen global food safety standards and streamline export compliance procedures from the farm gate to the final consumer.
OATS serves as an open, interoperable framework designed to maintain a trusted, tamper-evident record of agricultural produce throughout the supply chain. Unlike closed proprietary software platforms, OATS is engineered to allow disparate digital systems to communicate seamlessly. By providing a shared digital backbone, the framework supports geographic indication (GI) protection, improves consumer confidence, and simplifies the compliance process for all stakeholders involved in the trade of agricultural goods.
In designing the architecture, the developers drew inspiration from India’s successful DPI programs, such as Aadhaar and the UPI payments system, which proved the value of common standards and network interoperability on a national scale. OATS enables farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), processors, exporters, laboratories, and regulatory bodies to exchange authenticated data without the need for redundant record-keeping or repeated compliance submissions.
Inclusivity is a core design principle of the blueprint, which explicitly recommends that participation should carry no cost for farmers. This approach ensures that small and marginal producers are not excluded from accessing premium domestic and international markets. According to Prabir Mishra, CEO of TRST01, global buyers now demand verifiable proof of product origin and cultivation practices. As regulations become increasingly stringent in regions like Europe, the US, and Japan, India requires a trusted digital infrastructure to ensure transparency while keeping compliance simple for stakeholders.
The first implementation of this framework, known as 'MahaTRACE,' is currently under consideration by the government of Maharashtra. TRST01 and GS1 India have been proposed as the primary implementation partners for the project. The scope, specific crop coverage, and rollout phases for this deployment will be determined by the state government as the project moves forward.