EdgeChain
Privacy-Preserving Agricultural Intelligence
The application layer of the baeIoT ecosystem
EdgeChain is the proving ground for the Economy of Things: a privacy-preserving agricultural data marketplace for smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe.
Farmers contribute sensor data to collective AI models and earn rewards — without revealing who they are, where they farm, or what they grow.
The Problem
96.2% of farmers see digital agriculture as beneficial. Yet adoption remains minimal.
Why? Because the same data that enables drought relief, loan access, and market information also enables surveillance, exploitation, and targeting.
The Solution
EdgeChain combines three technologies:
| Technology | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Federated Learning | Train AI models locally—data never leaves the farm |
| Zero-Knowledge Proofs | Prove compliance without revealing identity |
| Blockchain Smart Contracts | Automate rewards without intermediaries |
Built On
- Msingi — The protocols that make anonymous attestation work
- Ndani — The hardware that makes trustless privacy real
Technical Foundation
- Platform: Midnight Network (Cardano ecosystem)
- Hardware: ESP32-S3 + ATECC608B (~$50/device)
- Communication: LoRa mesh for rural connectivity
- Proof Server: Raspberry Pi 5 (~$110)
Recognition
🏆 Top 16 — Midnight Summit Hackathon (November 2025)
"Transform data from a tool of punishment into infrastructure for cooperative empowerment."