Imagine 11 real-world farming and food operations across 13 countries — from dairy farms to greenhouses — all testing new digital tools at the same time. Ploutos built software that lets different players in the food chain (farmers, processors, retailers) actually share data with each other, plus a blockchain-based system so consumers can trace exactly where their food came from. The goal was to make food supply chains fairer for farmers, better for the environment, and more transparent for buyers. Think of it as giving the entire journey from field to fork a digital backbone that everyone can trust.
Food companies face growing pressure to prove where their ingredients come from, demonstrate sustainability, and share data across fragmented supply chains — but their systems don't talk to each other and paper-based traceability is slow and unreliable. Farmers often get squeezed on price because the value chain is opaque, making it hard to prove the quality and sustainability of what they produce.
Ploutos built data interoperability software (with full technical specifications and reference implementation) that lets different agri-food systems exchange information, plus a distributed ledger traceability service for tracking food products across the supply chain. These were tested in 11 pilots covering dairy, horticulture, arable, and greenhouse operations across 13 countries, producing 44 deliverables in total.
If you are a food processor juggling dozens of suppliers and struggling with traceability paperwork — this project built data interoperability tools and a distributed ledger traceability service tested across 11 pilots in 13 countries. These let you digitally track ingredients from farm to shelf, cutting manual audits and meeting retailer compliance demands faster.
If you are a dairy company under pressure to prove your sustainability credentials to retailers — Ploutos ran real-world pilots specifically in dairy production, testing collaborative business models and data-driven tools with 23 end-users. The results can help you document environmental impact and open doors to premium sustainability-labeled markets.
If you are an AgriTech provider whose sensors and software can't talk to your customers' other systems — Ploutos developed data interoperability enablers with full technical specifications and reference implementations. Tested across arable, horticulture, and greenhouse operations, these components can plug into your existing platform to make your product compatible with the wider agri-food data ecosystem.
The project data does not include specific licensing fees or implementation costs. Since Ploutos was an Innovation Action with 20 SMEs among 34 partners, the tools were designed with smaller companies in mind. Contact the coordinator for pricing or pilot partnership options.
Yes — Ploutos deployed 11 pilots across 13 countries covering arable, horticulture, greenhouses, perennials, and dairy. With 34 partners and 23 end-users involved, the tools were tested in real multi-country, multi-actor supply chains, not just in labs.
IP is shared among the 34-partner consortium. The data interoperability enablers include a reference implementation with technical specifications, suggesting the technology is available for adoption. Contact the consortium coordinator in Greece for licensing terms.
The distributed ledger traceability service was specifically designed for agri-food data sharing and tracking. While regulatory compliance wasn't the sole focus, blockchain-based traceability directly supports EU food safety and Farm-to-Fork transparency requirements.
The data interoperability enablers were built with standard technical specifications and a reference implementation, designed to connect different systems across the food chain. Based on available project data, integration complexity would depend on your current IT setup, but the interoperability-first design aims to reduce that friction.
Ploutos established an Innovation Academy to integrate best practices and lessons learned from all 11 pilots. The project ended in September 2023, but the academy and partner network of 34 organizations across 10 countries may still offer knowledge transfer and support.
The project ran for 3 years (2020-2023) and produced 44 deliverables including working software components. Since pilot testing is complete, deployment timelines would be shorter than starting from scratch. Based on available project data, a pilot integration could begin within months of agreement.
The Ploutos consortium is heavily industry-oriented: 21 of 34 partners come from industry, and 20 are SMEs, giving a 62% industry ratio — unusually high for an EU project. This signals that the technology was built with commercial users at the table, not just researchers. The consortium spans 10 countries (Cyprus, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, North Macedonia, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovenia), giving it strong Southern and Western European coverage. With 23 end-users among the partners, the tools were stress-tested by the people who would actually use them. The coordinator is a Greek digital services company, not a university, which further confirms the business-driven orientation of the project.
The coordinator is GAIA EPICHEIREIN, a Greek digital services company. Search for their project contact via the Ploutos website or LinkedIn.
Want a tailored brief on how Ploutos tools fit your supply chain? SciTransfer can connect you with the right consortium partner — contact us for a matchmaking consultation.
