Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Canales, Elizabeth

Committee Member

Interis, Matthew

Committee Member

Boys, Kathryn

Committee Member

Collart, Alba

Date of Degree

8-8-2023

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Agriculture

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Agricultural Economics

Abstract

This study examines small and medium scale specialty crop growers’ preferences for marketing contract attributes and willingness to adopt blockchain-based smart contracts. The data used were collected using an online survey and discrete choice experiment. Findings indicate that farmers prefer higher average prices, cash, check or electronic bank payment over cryptocurrency, and immediate payment upon product delivery over delayed payment. When choosing a contract, farmers viewed traditional text-based contracts and digital platforms with automated smart contracts equivalently, on average. On average, farmers showed no preference for providing and not providing traceability lot codes to buyers, and between choosing a contract and marketing their products as usual. Although we find that some farmers prefer to provide traceability lot codes to buyers while others do not, and some farmers prefer having a contract option while others do not. These insights could be useful to buyers and specialty crop farmers seeking to contract.

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