The crypto community has a few strategies similar to this. Gitcoin and the Bounties Network come to mind, though neither is set up exactly like this. A smart contract could solve the most difficult payment problems pretty easily.
All the commodities mentioned in the article have had active futures markets for decades. A farmer will typically sell contracts to deliver their crop as a hedge against the price moving against them during the season. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futures_contract
I heard a funny story once about an interaction between Tim Berners-Lee and Ryan Shea. Woulda been about 4 years ago and I can see how it might have prompted TBL to take a crack at the same problem. Maybe you're right?
I think OP was stating that they aren't measurable in the real economy, not that we can't construct situations in/mechanisms by which they can be observed.
In NYC - We brought someone on from a bootcamp a few months ago. He's the best bootcamp grad we talked to BY FAR and everyone more senior wouldn't take less than triple the salary we're all taking. We're a really small team, also.