Before we go deeper into the financial inclusion issue in the Caribbean I’d like to explain what is sentinel chain is. From the website sentinel chain is described as “a B2B marketplace specifically designed to provide affordable and secure financial services to the unbanked”. This means that the goal of sentinel chain is to promote financial inclusion to the unbanked by allowing them to gain access to financial services, such as loans and livestock insurance, through the use of non-traditional means.
This non-traditional means comes in the form of collateralizing livestock, a major asset for many farmers that is usually overlooked by financial institutions when assessing farmers to see what services they qualify for. All of this is done through the blockchain to guarantee the validity and ownership of all assets, so everyone can have confidence that all the data present is valid.Now with regards to the Caribbean I’d like to focus on Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago’s agricultural sector employs around 4% of the population and counts for .05% of its GDP. Farmers in Trinidad and Tobago enjoy various benefits and have access to many incentive programs that allow them to try to compete with international companies and importing.
However these incentives have not proven to be effective enough with many farmers unable to afford new equipment or produce on the scale to compete with the price of imported goods. Due to a lack of machinery cost of production is much higher for them than imported goods so they are forced to sell at near break-even prices to attempt to be competitive. There are some options for them but they aren’t very effective.
According to local farmer Vishwanath Baboolal, “Most livestock farmers can't afford to buy a new vehicle; they prefer to buy locally used. The incentive only covers brand new vehicles. For the farmers who can stretch and buy a new vehicle, the way the subsidy is structured, you have to buy it on your own and then apply for it, and still pay full price, VAT, duty and interest," he said.”
Other problems included mediocre local demand for their products, praedial larceny and now skyrocketing feed prices which are forcing many farmers to consider leaving the business. Sentinel Chain, I believe, can help with several of the problems listed here. The first being praedial larceny i.e. theft of livestock. Sentinel Chain’s ownership verification system can allow stolen animals to be tracked and ownership to be verified via the blockchain, preventing disputes and theft.
Sentinel chain can also provide access to loans for farmers so they can buy better equipment to increase efficiency and reduce costs. This will allow local farmers to be able to compete with international corporations and major local corporations. Another problem outlined was the high cost and sometimes unavailability of veterinary care and services, he stated that “Most vets specialize in dogs and cats... and antibiotics and vitamins are expensive." Sentinel Chain can help these farmers get insurance for their livestock so they can have a safety net in the event their animals get sick and die.
I believe Sentinel Chain can make a huge difference in the Caribbean and especially Trinidad and Tobago so I hope to see them succeed in the future.
To learn more about them you can check them out hereMedium: https://medium.com/sentinelchain/,
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvfvoCTvnH2OMAArfwXLaLA
Website: http://www.sentinel-chain.org/
Telegram: http://t.me/sentinelchain
Sources/Additional reading: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business-magazine/T_T_s_livestock_farming_industry_struggling_A_dying_breed-168566116.html
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