Enhancing Agricultural Efficiency with Blockchain-Orchestrated Drone Swarms and Kubernetes

Integrating advanced technologies in agriculture is essential for secure, transparent, and efficient data management. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based smart agriculture architecture that leverages Hyperledger Fabric deployed on a Kubernetes cluster to support drone swarm operations in agricultural applications. The proposed architecture comprises a multi-organization blockchain network, where each organization operates a peer and multiple orderer nodes. Utilizing the chaincode-as-a-service model enables dynamic updates of smart contracts, ensuring adaptability and flexibility. Robust communication between drones and the blockchain network is facilitated through APIs, enabling real-time data collection and decision-making. In addition, a custom chaincode is developed to cater to agricultural needs, offering functions such as drone registration, data updates, and querying based on parameters such as location and battery status. The performance of the chaincode is evaluated using Hyperledger Caliper with various transaction rates, including fixed and linear scenarios. The results demonstrate that our blockchain-based architecture significantly enhances the reliability, security, and scalability of agricultural drone applications, providing a robust framework for future advancements.