Integration of Blockchain-Based Financing in Traditional Coffee Supply Chains: A Systematic Review of Models, Challenge, and Opportunities

The global coffee supply chain continues to face financial exclusion, value asymmetry, and structural inefficiencies that disadvantage smallholder farmers and cooperatives. Blockchain-enabled Coffee Supply Chain Finance (CSCF) has been promoted as a mechanism to automate transactions, enhance transparency, and support more equitable value distribution. This study conducts a systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, analyzing 60 peer-reviewed publications during 2020–2024 to identify how blockchain is being adopted in CSCF. The findings show that blockchain especially when integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) improves traceability, lowers transaction frictions, and expands access to finance through smart contracts, tokenized assets, and blockchain-based crowdfunding models. These mechanisms reduce intermediary dependence and strengthen risk monitoring across supply-chain actors. However, adoption remains constrained by high implementation costs, interoperability challenges, regulatory uncertainty, and limited digital readiness among farmers and cooperatives. Unlike previous blockchain reviews focused mainly on traceability, this study provides the first structured synthesis linking blockchain functions to financing models, adoption determinants, and policy requirements in the coffee sector. The review offers strategic implications for cooperatives, policymakers, and financial institutions seeking to develop scalable and inclusive CSCF ecosystems.