Listening to the calm and amiable voice of social impact entrepreneur, Genevieve Leveille, one swiftly realizes her unwavering determination to help uplift people. Originally from Haiti, Genevieve now resides in St. Oeuns, Channel Islands. She is the CEO and principal founder of AgriLedger, the award-winning blockchain solutions company operating in the agricultural value chain. With over 25 years’ experience of leading at the intersection of finance, supply chain optimization and technology, Genevieve is revolutionizing the agricultural supply chain enabling greater trust, authenticity and transparency through traceability.

“Smallholder communities,” says Genevieve, “are the custodians of the land and sea. Technology now exists to breathe new life into old livelihoods. Blockchain facilitates not just food traceability but an audit trail of environmental impact from the ground up that can be co-designed with smallholders.”

Blockchain solutions – a gamechanger in the agricultural value chain

Genevieve explains that 70% of the world’s farmers are smallholders; those with less than four acres of land. Yet, they are not reaping the financial benefits. In the agricultural sector, there is a lack of trust, a lack of liquidity, a lack of information, a lack of financial inclusion and food wastage. Through her organization, Genevieve has been making inroads to change that and an example is in 2020 when she implemented a blockchain solution in the fresh fruit market in Haiti in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and the World Bank. Farmers, consumers and families reaped the benefits of fairer prices and improved food security, while participating smallholder farmers saw an increase of over 400% in their revenues!

Genevieve reminds us that the first beneficiaries are the communities that produce the food that we eat. However, they are only the first line, as her work supports a greater ecosystem that promotes regenerative agriculture. Replenishing soil must occur to slow down or reverse the negative effects of climate change.

She believes that to support the right behaviors, mechanisms need to be put in place for those who toil, to ensure that they receive an equitable distribution of wealth. To achieve this, trust amongst the various players in the ecosystem needs to be reestablished to ensure a more balanced outcome. She strongly states that a few having all the wealth while the rest of the population are struggling to survive, needs to stop.

This is why Genevieve is using blockchain as it enables traceability. She refers to it as a very special database that can’t be erased, brings in trust, identifies the source and allows many people to participate without the fear of being marginalized.

Bringing technology of web3 and the Metaverse to grassroots level

Much of Genevieve’s past work was centered around the concept of straight-through processing and reduction of costs due to incorrect details or lack of information. She also worked in the microcosm of digital identity. This all made it super easy, as she expresses, to visualize the power that blockchain and distributed ledger technology could bring to people’s lives.

“When I decided to take the plunge, I wanted it to be about something I was passionate about which everyone could relate to. I love two things in life: travel and food!” Travel can be seen as a luxury as there are individuals who have not ventured more than 20 miles away from their homes. People must all eat to be able to survive. This led her to gravitate to food and agriculture as a focus area, looking carefully as to how the value chain could be maximized.

As web3 and the Metaverse evolve, Genevieve believes that addressing digital inclusion is just as vital as financial inclusion as those who are excluded from this digital revolution will pay more for basic services and utilities and will not get access to many of the benefits that are created with the new technologies. Recognized as an authority in the realm of digital identity and financial transformation, Genevieve leaves us with these words to ponder. “It is our obligation, as we continue this journey, to look for ways to bring along those who are the most vulnerable.”

GENEVIEVE LEVEILLE’S WEB3 TIPS AND RESOURCES

• Talk to people and ask lots of questions.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There is never a dumb question – you will learn a lot from being vulnerable.
• The space is moving very fast and those who have been in the ecosystem for a while are still in the same boat as someone who came in a few days before.
• We all have to keep learning and educating ourselves to be able to flourish.
• The key is to use the same kind of radar and self-preservation tools that one would use in the other facets of our lives and understand that not everything is done with malice but is a result of the unknown.

Website: agriledger.io