[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Bringing World Food Program (WFP) Pricing Ledger to Cardano

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

750000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

12

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Lack of trusted, timely and verifiable source of market-level food prices, limiting early warning, rapid response and coordinated action in volatile, high-risk food security contexts.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://www.wfp.org/
,
• https://dataviz.vam.wfp.org/economic/overview
,
• https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/2.3.3-30%20-Caccavale%20WFP%20-Democratizing%20Data.pdf
,
• https://innovation.wfp.org/
,
• https://ftma.org/

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.

Apache License 2.0

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

RWA

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Describe your established collaborations.

The WFP Global Pricing Ledger will be deployed alongside a committed group of ecosystem partners who have already agreed in principle to integrate the pricing data once it becomes available. These partnerships ensure that the oracle is not only technically implemented, but actively used to power real-world applications across multiple sectors of the Cardano ecosystem.

1. Agricultural Data and Oracle Integration

Satellite Oracle Integration: Enhanced agricultural assessment combining price data with land productivity metrics for comprehensive farmer profiling

1. Financial Services and Stablecoin Integration

FIDA Finance - Smallholder Insurance: Agricultural insurance products using price volatility data and historical trends for risk assessment and claims processing

Cardano Stablecoins USDA & USDM: Price-stable payment systems for agricultural transactions, farmer payments, and cross-border trade settlements

1. Supply Chain and Trading Platform Integration

Zengate Global - Supply Chain Traceability: Enhanced supply chain transparency combining pricing with product traceability for premium market access

Palmyra - Trading Marketplace: Price discovery enhancement through historical and real-time market data integration

Crowd sourcing of info - Andamio: collecting data from filed agents, providing rewards and developing agent reputation

1. Oracle network

Charli3 Oracles: The Charli3 Oracle is our first choice for data operations on Cardano given their history of data reliability and security, as well as their partnerchain infrastructure. The Oracle provider will ensure price feeds are published on-chain and are temper-proof and reliable, which will enable on-chain use case such as DEFI lending, insurance pricing etc...

Describe funding commitments.

This proposal represents a full delivery commitment from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the implementation partners to complete the scope described, regardless of market fluctuations, complexity, or ecosystem dependencies. The requested Catalyst funding is intended to support the development, deployment, and integration effort necessary to bring WFP’s market-level price data onto Cardano in a secure and usable format.

WFP is not relying solely on Catalyst resources to make the project viable. The core data infrastructure, operational systems, quality assurance mechanisms, and ongoing global market price collection are already funded and continue independently of this proposal. Catalyst funding is specifically allocated to the blockchain publishing layer, integration work, and ecosystem activation required to make this data available as public on-chain infrastructure.

Describe your key performance metrics.

Technical Deployment

Smart contracts deployed and verified on testnet and mainnet

Automated publishing pipeline running with ≥95% uptime

Data Publication

500+ markets publishing authenticated price data in initial rollout

100% validation accuracy between source data and on-chain entries

Ecosystem Adoption

3+ ecosystem partners actively integrating or consuming the data

Developer Access & Documentation

Public documentation, schema, and API published and externally tested

1000+ API or data access interactions (testnet + mainnet)

Sustainability & Governance

Long-term governance model finalized and published

Handover and operational continuity confirmed with WFP technical teams

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Market-level food price data is essential for strengthening food security, economic stability and people’s daily lives. Without trusted, up-to-date and verifiable information, early-warning systems weaken, responses to shocks slow and households, farmers and governments face critical information gaps.

The World Food Programme collects, validates and analyses price data, including food commodities, fuel, and other essential commodities from 1,800 markets across 60 countries, producing forecasts and Alerts for Price Spikes (ALPS), and standardising assessments through tools such as the Market Functionality Index. Today, this information transforms raw observations into actionable insights that strengthen early warning and support better decision-making across humanitarian and government partners.

However, despite its scale and strategic importance, WFP’s trusted market-level food price data is not yet available in a transparent, tamper-proof or easily usable digital format for wider stakeholders, limiting its full potential. The data remains off-chain and hard for external systems to integrate automatically.

Publishing authenticated pricing data to the Cardano blockchain as a global public good directly addresses these barriers, unlocking new applications across agriculture finance, insurance, supply chains, market transparency and humanitarian systems.

The solution includes:

• A secure blockchain oracle where every data entry is signed by WFP and anchored on an interoperable price ledger for immutability and public verification.
• A publisher registry and governance model ensuring only authorized WFP keys can submit or update data.
• A scalable data storage model using the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralised peer-to-peer network designed for storing and sharing bulk datasets, with on-chain hashes ensuring auditability, integrity and tamper-proof verification.
• Developer-friendly access, including a Public Application Programming Interface (public API), cryptographic proofs, and smart contract interfaces that support Cardano and future interoperable blockchain environments, enabling seamless integration across both Web2 and Web3 applications.

This initiative is delivery-focused and built for real usage from day one, not conceptual experimentation. To ensure adoption, WFP will work directly with a committed cohort of ecosystem partners who have agreed in principle to integrate the pricing ledger once live.

These partners represent core real-world use cases across (by level of impact):

• Agricultural marketplaces and price discovery (high)
• Stablecoin-based settlement for cross-border and local payments (high)
• Oracle redundancy, validation networks, and data aggregation (high)
• Agricultural lending, microfinance, and risk modeling (medium)
• Index-based insurance and climate-resilience financial products (medium)
• Supply chain traceability and proof of authenticity (low)

The outcome is a permanent, transparent, and trusted pricing infrastructure layer. It connects humanitarian-scale data to digital financial systems and enables a new generation of products grounded in real-world economics rather than theoretical models.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

This project turns WFP’s verified global market price data into open, on-chain public infrastructure, unlocking real-world financial applications and strengthening the Cardano ecosystem.

Key impacts:

• New Data Category: Introduces verifiable real-world pricing data to Cardano (not crypto-derived), enabling trusted economic signals for smart contracts.
• Immediate Utility: Enables practical use cases such as agricultural lending, insurance pricing, stablecoin settlement, supply-chain traceability, and DeFi oracles, supported by committed ecosystem integration partners.
• Ecosystem Alignment: Directly supports Cardano’s mission of financial inclusion by reducing information asymmetry and improving market access for farmers, cooperatives, and local finance networks.
• Reusable Public Infrastructure: All schemas, publishing methods, and integration tooling are open and reusable, creating a foundation other UN agencies, governments, and developers can build on.
• Institutional Validation: Demonstrates that Cardano is capable of powering high-compliance, humanitarian-grade systems, building long-term credibility and attracting additional institutional adoption.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & Feasibility

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Lead Organization Capabilities

World Food Programme (WFP) - Project Lead

• Global Data Infrastructure: WFP maintains the world's largest repository of domestic market price data with established collection and validation procedures across 60 countries.
• Technical Expertise: WFP employs many top-level economists and market experts that supports operational decision-making and evidence-driven advocacy through economic analysis.
• System Integration Experience: Years of work enhancing internal systems and improving integration across corporate tools, demonstrating capability to implement blockchain data publication.
• Field Operations Excellence: WFP ensures strong field operations through extensive market networks, reliable price data collection, and trusted local partnerships supporting accurate, timely decision-making.
• Partnership Network: Strong relationships with governments, agricultural cooperatives, and microfinance institutions in target countries.

Data Collection and Validation Capabilities:

• Comprehensive data collection across 1,800+ markets, including market-level food prices, and complementary economic indicators gathered through standardised protocols. Furthermore, WFP acts as a key local data collector in many countries, operating alongside national and local partners across more than 1,800 active markets. In critical humanitarian contexts where governments lack the capacity to gather price information, WFP plays an essential role in ensuring that market prices for basic food items are available to inform timely and effective decision-making.
• Automated quality assurance procedures ensuring accuracy, consistency and real-time validation of incoming price data.
• Robust metadata frameworks covering commodities, categories, conversion factors, units of measurement, currencies, markets, geolocation and price types, ensuring harmonised data formats across countries.
• Advanced analytical systems that produce price forecasts, Alerts for Price Spikes (ALPS), and market trend analysis, enabling timely detection of anomalies and market stress.
• Integrated market assessment tools, such as the Market Functionality Index (MFI) and MFI for Nutrition, providing rapid, automated visualisations within 24 hours to support operational decision-making.
• Real-time processing and fully centralised data workflows, enabling continuous updates to corporate dashboards such as the DataViz Economic Explorer and the Global Market Monitor.

Technical Implementation Partners

ELK (ELKsconnect.com) - Ecosystem Integration Lead

• Cardano Ecosystem Expertise: Deep knowledge of Cardano agricultural, financial, and data projects
• Partnership Facilitation: Proven track record in identifying and coordinating cross-project collaborations
• Community Engagement: Established relationships within Cardano ecosystem for effective partner recruitment

Operational Accountability:

• Progress Reports: Detailed updates on technical development, data publication metrics, and partnership progress
• Impact Measurement: Independent evaluation of pricing data usage and ecosystem adoption metrics
• Stakeholder Feedback: Regular feedback collection from stakeholders, partner organizations, and ecosystem users

Feasibility Validation

Technical Feasibility:

• Oracle Technology: Building on established Cardano oracle frameworks with demonstrated scalability
• Decentralized storrage Integration: Leveraging mature Iagon's infrastructure for cost-effective bulk data storage
• API Standards: Using established REST API patterns for broad compatibility
• Batch Processing: Optimized data grouping strategies tested for Cardano transaction limits

Operational Feasibility:

• Existing WFP Infrastructure: Leveraging established data collection and processing systems
• Country Partnership Network: Building on existing WFP relationships with relevant local players such as governments, MFIs and agricultural organizations
• Ecosystem Integration: Partnering with established blockchain-based projects with existing user bases

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Planning, Alignment & Architecture Co-Design

Milestone Outputs

• Final requirements gathered from WFP and ecosystem partners
• Technical architecture blueprint (on-chain + off-chain publishing logic)
• Finalized data schema mapped to WFP source datasets
• Governance and multisig signing policy definition
• Public architecture summary document for community transparency

Acceptance Criteria

• Architecture reviewed and approved by WFP data governance team
• Sample data from at least two countries successfully mapped to schema
• Governance model validated with a working signing-key test
• Documentation uploaded and accessible in shared repository

Evidence of Completion

• Signed architecture approval document
• Repository link containing finalized documentation
• Schema mapping test results logged
• Governance test report with signing validation results

Delivery Month

2

Cost

110000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Prototype Oracle & Initial Test Publishing

Milestone Outputs

• Prototype oracle smart contract deployed on Cardano testnet
• Automated publishing script connected to sample datasets
• Basic monitoring and alert tooling
• Testnet dashboard or explorer preview
• Early developer documentation for partner testing

Acceptance Criteria

• Publishing automation runs reliably without manual intervention
• At least one ecosystem partner verifies testnet data and provides feedback
• Successful Merkle proof validation using automated + manual testing
• Debug/error logs reviewed and workflow refined

Evidence of Completion

• Testnet explorer links showing successful oracle transactions
• Proof validation logs confirming signature + Merkle root integrity
• Developer guide shared with at least one partner
• Partners feedback report

Delivery Month

4

Cost

225000

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

Full Testnet Deployment With Real WFP Data

Milestone Outputs

• Testnet oracle publishing authenticated real-world WFP pricing data
• API layer for both off-chain and on-chain consumption
• Integration support sessions with ecosystem partners
• Updated monitoring, validation, and operational dashboards

Acceptance Criteria

• Minimum three ecosystem teams using data for integration testing
• Uptime reaches ≥95% for publishing cycles
• Zero mismatches between source data and published values
• Documentation tested by at least two external developers

Evidence of Completion

• Testnet metrics dashboard screenshot + export logs
• Partner testing reports demonstrating consumption
• Data integrity audit comparing oracle outputs vs WFP sources
• Signed documentation validation from two external testers

Delivery Month

9

Cost

128000

Progress

70 %

Milestone Title

Limited Mainnet Launch

Milestone Outputs

• Mainnet oracle contracts deployed and verified
• Automated publishing workflow running on mainnet
• Public technical documentation and API endpoints
• Live monitoring dashboards (integrity, uptime, consumption)
• Partner onboarding to mainnet access

Acceptance Criteria

• 30-day continuous publishing streak with ≥95% uptime
• Signature verification reproducible by external auditors/tools
• Documentation confirmed usable by non-project developers
• Performance monitoring confirms scalable publishing cadence

Evidence of Completion

• Mainnet explorer links demonstrating continuous publishing
• Independent verification report or reproducible signing test
• Public documentation published and accessible
• Partners onboarding Reports

Delivery Month

10

Cost

240000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Sustainability, Handover & Public Launch

Milestone Outputs

• Operational sustainability & long-term governance plan
• Final technical + governance documentation set
• Adoption and ecosystem impact report
• Public communications push with partners
• Post-launch roadmap

Acceptance Criteria

• Minimum three ecosystem organizations actively consuming the data
• Documentation verified usable by developer testing
• Final report evidences utility, adoption, and ecosystem value
• Public launch announcement published with partners

Evidence of Completion

• Signed confirmations from three active consuming partners
• Public announcement link(s)
• Final success/impact report submitted
• Roadmap document uploaded to shared repository

Delivery Month

12

Cost

47000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone 1: Planning, Alignment & Architecture Co-Design

Cost: 110,000 ADA

Breakdown:

• Technical Architecture & Governance Design: 38,000 ADA
• WFP Stakeholder Workshops & Requirements Alignment: 22,000 ADA
• Data Schema Mapping & Validation Engineering: 26,000 ADA
• Documentation, Compliance Review & Public Summary: 14,000 ADA
• Project Management & Repository Setup: 10,000 ADA

Milestone 2: Prototype Oracle & Initial Publishing

Cost: 225,000 ADA

Breakdown:

• Smart Contract Development & Core Oracle Logic: 90,000 ADA
• Automated Publishing Script & Signing Infrastructure: 58,000 ADA
• Testnet Deployment, Debugging & CI/CD Setup: 32,000 ADA
• Early Monitoring, Logging & Error Handling Tools: 20,000 ADA
• Developer Sandbox, Partner Testing & Support Resources: 25,000 ADA

Milestone 3: Full Testnet Deployment With Real WFP Data

Cost: 128,000 ADA

Breakdown:

• Integration of Real WFP Data Into Publishing Pipelines: 36,000 ADA
• API Layer for Contract Calls & Off-Chain Access: 28,000 ADA
• Monitoring Upgrades, Data Integrity Validation & Tooling: 20,000 ADA
• Partner Integration Sessions (min. 3–5 ecosystem teams): 26,000 ADA
• Documentation Iteration, Feedback Incorporation & Testing: 18,000 ADA

Milestone 4: Limited Mainnet Launch

Cost: 240,000 ADA

Breakdown:

• Mainnet Contract Deployment, Verification & Hardening: 75,000 ADA
• Scalable Publishing Infrastructure & Automated Operations: 60,000 ADA
• Production-Grade Monitoring Dashboards & Alerts: 38,000 ADA
• Partner Mainnet Onboarding, Migration & Support: 37,000 ADA
• Public Documentation, API Exposure & Launch Coordination: 30,000 ADA

Milestone 5: Sustainability, Handover & Public Launch

Cost: 47,000 ADA

Breakdown:

• Long-Term Governance Model, SLAs & Handover Framework: 16,000 ADA
• Adoption & Impact Report for Catalyst + Public Metrics: 8,000 ADA
• Final Documentation, Version Freeze & Maintenance Playbook: 11,000 ADA
• Public Launch Announcement, Partner Showcase & Roadmap: 12,000 ADA

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

The requested 750,000 ADA represents strong value for the Cardano ecosystem because it delivers permanent, reusable public-good infrastructure and unlocks high-impact integrations already committed by partners. The value can be summarized across five dimensions:

High Economic Value of the Data

• WFP pricing data includes 330,000+ annual price points, covering 1,800+ markets across 60 countries.
• Comparable commercial datasets cost $50,000–$200,000 per year for partial access.
• This project makes the dataset available as a public good, immediately exceeding the value of the funding request.

Infrastructure Built at a Fraction of Market Cost

• Oracle and data-integration systems of this scope typically cost $1M–$3M to build in enterprise environments.
• Leveraging existing WFP systems, open-source tooling, and committed ecosystem partners significantly reduces cost.
• The result is long-term infrastructure, not a short-term pilot.

Immediate Ecosystem Utility Across Multiple Use Cases

Pricing data directly enables:

• Agricultural lending and microfinance
• Insurance modeling and risk scoring
• Commodity marketplaces and price discovery
• Traceability systems and supply chain transparency
• Stablecoin settlement mechanisms
• Oracle redundancy and validation networks
• Multiple Cardano ecosystem partners are already committed to integrating the data once live.

Strategic Impact and Market Positioning

• Positions Cardano as a leader in blockchain solutions for public institutions, humanitarian systems, and global development sectors.
• Creates pathways for additional UN agencies, governments, and NGOs to adopt Cardano-based infrastructure.
• Taps into a sector with $50B+ annual operational budgets, representing major long-term ecosystem opportunities.

Sustainable, Open, and Extensible

• All core components, including smart contracts, publishing logic, schemas, and integration patterns, will be open-source.
• Documentation, developer tooling, and governance frameworks ensure long-term accessibility and reusability.
• Any value gained from ADA appreciation will be allocated to scaling adoption, not expanding scope, which at this current stage reaches 0,42 USD.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that the lead applicant is a verified legal business entity.

Yes

I confirm that the lead org has a ≥2-year track record, and the consortium collectively has ≥$5M in verifiable annual revenue.

Yes

I confirm that evidence of collaboration with a qualified Tier-1 enterprise is provided.

Yes

I confirm that the proposer and all team members are in good standing with prior Catalyst projects.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal is for mature R&D or integration, not an early-stage concept or core infrastructure.

Yes

I confirm that evidence of a mature product is provided, with a clear integration plan if not already on Cardano.

Yes

I confirm that all key partners, including the Tier-1 collaborator, are clearly identified.

Yes

I confirm that a clear statement of the partner's in-kind or financial contributions is included.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal provides verifiable references (e.g., LinkedIn, portfolio) for key team members.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes clear KPIs for adoption (e.g., transaction volume, user growth). Forecast for projected on-chain transaction volume is provided with adequate justification.

Yes

I confirm that delivery is ≤ 12 months with clear milestones.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes a co-marketing or community engagement plan to amplify Cardano's visibility.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal budget is for future work only, not for completed tasks. No incentives, giveaways, private treasuries and regranting are included in the budget.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes