The application of blockchain technology in the agri-food sector. A case for Geographical Indications.

The research aims to understand the role that blockchain technology could play in the realm of Geographical Indications. More specifically, looking at the phenomenon from the perspective of GI producer groups, rather than from that of PDO and PGI individual producers and companies, an attempt is made to understand whether blockchain could contribute to the governance of Geographical Indications, answering to one main research question: can blockchain be proposed and presented as a valid tool in the hands of producer groups to uptake the different functions leading to the governance of GIs? The work builds on the acknowledgment that the agri-food sector is now characterised by an extensive digitalisation process that, while taking different forms and responding to various functions, involves blockchain and the broader category of distributed ledger technologies, as well, which indeed find fertile ground for implementation in agri-food supply chains. These statements also apply to the specific field of Geographical Indications, a well-established and solid system in the EU framework that, however, is currently undergoing profound changes, marking the need for adjustment and adaptation of the system. These changes are connected to the entry into force of the new European regulatory regime for GIs, introduced under Regulation (EU) No 2024/1143, but also to known issues and new challenges the GI system and its actors must address. In response to this need for adjustment and adaptation, Geographical Indications must also start thinking in terms of innovation, which, although not exclusively technological, surely involves digitalisation. For blockchain, this scenario paves the way for novel and original horizons of application, which extend to include the still uncharted concept of GI governance, entrusted to producer groups through the attribution of larger tasks and greater responsibilities towards their GIs.