The Tunisian Ministry of Education has signed an agreement with blockchain supply chain startup Devery.io in order to implement a blockchain-based tracking system for its school meals programme.

The Tunisian government operates a school meal programme which offers one fresh meal a day to underprivileged students in its primary and secondary educational system. The programme is currently managed by the United Nation's World Food Programme.

The government is now exploring the potential of blockchain technology in tracking meal deliveries. According to the official release, the implementation will involve an initial roll out to a scheme to feed 1500 primary school kids. After the successful trial of the blockchain solution, the goal is to roll out to the scheme to all 400,000 Tunisian school children currently receiving food assistance.

"This project is allowing us to explore how supporting innovation, through the introduction of solutions based on blockchain technology, can contribute to strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the Tunisian national school meals programme," said Maria Lukyanova, the United Nations World Food Programme Representative and Head of Country Office for the Republic of Tunisia.

Devery.io will provide its technical expertise to build, train and utilise a transparent and more accountable system of tracking the meal deliveries, while ensuring that issues could be reported directly to the Ministry in real time. The startup will also train personnel to utilise and maintain the technology for the foreseeable future.

"Blockchain technology has the potential to impact billions of people through bridging the gap between the physical and digital world. Ensuring the safe delivery of the food to children via blockchain technology is a cause we truly believe will impact the lives of many to come," Andrew Rasheed, founder and CEO of Devery.io.

The World Food Programme expects to use blockchain solution developed for this programme to be implemented in other missions around the world.