Assam Scientist Helps Farmers Fight Climate Change with IoT

When Dr. Bijayalakshmi Goswami started Agrithink Services in September 2019, she had no formal business experience and a simple goal: help Assam's farmers survive climate change. Three months later, COVID-19 shut everything down.

Goswami had been working with farming communities and women's self-help groups across Assam, where agriculture drives the economy but climate uncertainty threatens livelihoods. She partnered with Taufiq Ahmed to build something practical: a smart monitoring system that farmers could actually use.

Their flagship product tracks temperature, moisture, and humidity in real time using IoT sensors. Farmers growing crops in greenhouses, cultivating mushrooms, or running processing facilities can now control irrigation remotely and get instant recommendations based on live data.

Then the pandemic hit. "We were on the verge of losing everything," Goswami admits.

By June 2020, the team had nearly run out of money. Goswami struggled to keep her staff motivated while working remotely with almost no resources.

The Assam government stepped in with 5 lakh rupees (about $6,000). That lifeline kept the doors open and validated what Goswami had believed all along: Assam's startup ecosystem was evolving to support homegrown innovation.

The Ripple Effect

Agrithink's recovery shows how targeted government support can multiply impact far beyond one company. The smart monitoring system now helps farmers make science-based decisions that protect crops, conserve water, and boost yields even as weather patterns become less predictable.

For women in rural Assam especially, Goswami's journey from community organizer to tech entrepreneur opens new possibilities. Her work with self-help groups means she understands the barriers firsthand and designs solutions that work for real farmers, not just on paper.

Over the next three to five years, Agrithink plans to scale across India, creating jobs while helping agriculture adapt to climate reality. Goswami envisions farmers using affordable technology to not just survive uncertain seasons, but build genuinely resilient operations.

In a region where farming families have worked the land for generations, Agrithink is proving that tradition and technology can grow together.