PLAASPLAAS, the leading blockchain platform for African farmers is currently working on launching a futures platform that will create a better market for farmers and their produce. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a certain commodity/asset or security at a pre-determined price and date in the future. Futures contracts exist in various commodity markets as a way of managing risk while betting on the future price of the underlying asset. Oil, natural gas, maize, gold, are among assets that have futures contracts.
PLAAS Futures involves enabling farmers to sell their farm products at a specific price and date in future.
PLAAS FUTURES Community
The Futures platform will have a community of developers, validators, farmers, investors, and merchants. The validators will play a role in formation and scanning existing futures contracts to ensure they are valid. A validator earns PLAAS tokens every time they validate a contract. In this case, the validators act as miners. When a farmer opens a contract anyone can close it.
Before a contract matures, the validators will ensure all the terms of the contract have been met and payouts made as per the contract. Payouts to the farmer will be made in stages and the items are received by the contract owner when it matures.
Investors buy the futures contract and become the owners of the contract and the contracts are paid for in Bitcoin. For example, there could be eggs futures contract whereby a farmer promises to sell 50 trays of eggs at PLAAS 8 at a future date (30 June). An investor can enter this contract buy paying half the amount of the money required in BTC and these BTC are then immediately changed to PLAAS to activate the contract.The farmer immediately gets the initial payment. At the delivery (contract maturity) investors close the contract and gets the profits.
Contracts are made in PLAAS token while investors close contracts via bitcoin. The investor closes the contract with the expectation that when the future contract matures he/she will be able to make a profit out of the funds he invested in the farmer.
Characteristics of the PLAAS futures contract
PLAAS Contracts are non-fungible meaning tokens are different from each other and each contract is created only when a farmer opens the contract. The contract remains open and when an investor closes it, it is transferred to their wallet.
All contracts will be available on the PLAAS website. Farmers’ interaction with the platform will be through a mobile app for updates and payments.
More certainty for farmers
With PLAAS futures, farmers get the assurance of a ready market for their products or animals. They also get better certainty in selling their produce at a specific price.
Validators visit the farm and set up RFDI and form a futures contract. There will be SMS updates for farmers on the progress.
Network of validators
As the platform expands, there will be a network of validators working directly with farmers on the ground. Those wishing to become validators are able to buy a node from PLAAS and serve a certain region based on their capabilities. PLAAS centres will be in various locations adopting agency type of model.
Currently, the PLAAS development team is working on the hardware that will make up the nodes. As long as you buy the node, you will be able to take part in PLAAS futures as a validator. Not your hardware, not your node.
PLAAS tokens are earned
Instead of giving tokens freely or buying them, they will be earned (mined) by validators. They can then later be traded on exchanges. Furthermore, open contracts can be re-sold before delivery is made.PLAAS is an internal utility token that makes the plaas network complete. It is a token to help smartcontract work,to pay developers,earned by node validators and earned by farmers and used by farmers on the PLAAS farmers market where they can buy and sell agricultural goods.
Future developments
PLAAS has already conducted successful tests in Kenya with farmers and this is forming the basis for making validator nodes.
PLAAS futures will also be insured. PLAAS will partner with various insurance providers to safeguard the contracts in case of defaults on open contracts.
Overall, PLAAS futures has various advantages for farmers, investors, merchants, and validators.
- Global: investors can buy contracts from anywhere in the world without needing to visit the farm
- Payments are made in bitcoins further enhancing efficient payments anywhere.
- For farmers, futures contracts reduce the uncertainty about the selling price which may drop significantly and they end up making losses.
- Farmers also get the necessary financing to enable them to fulfil their obligations
- Smart contracts: the making of a futures contract will involve smart contract which self-executes whenever the terms are met, reducing human error.
About PLAAS
PLAAS is a satoshicentre project, a leading bitcoin and lightning community hub in Botswana. Alakanani Itireleng, the bitcoinlady is the founder of Satoshicentre and co-founder of PLAAS. Alakanani is one of the foremost bitcoin and blockchain advocates in Africa. She is well known for supporting and promoting bitcoin awareness in Africa since 2013 and working with numerous successful projects at satoshicentre. She has spoken at various conferences in Europe, North America, Russia and throughout Africa.
Farmers in Kenya and Botswana will be able to take part with expansion to other countries in Africa being undertaken later. You can check out more details about PLAAS Futures PLAAS whitepaper.
