What if we told you that there was a company hoping to introduce hundreds of early agricultural communities to The People’s Network? While many people think of smart building and home IoT applications for this kind of large-scale deployment, Nibiaa is passionate about a more consumable product: Tea.

In Nibiaa’s home country India, the potential speaks for itself: There are just over 1,500 large tea estates that include an average landholding of 740 acres each. There are also 45,000 small tea growers with an average landholding of 25 acres in North East India. For these small farms, every 25 acres would require about 10 Helium-compatible sensors with a full-scale deployment including approximately 295 sensors across 740 acres.

Those who are quick with math will see that this could equate to over 13 million new sensors on The People’s Network. And that would be just the beginning, as those sensors would cover only the amount needed for small tea growers in India.

How did Nibiaa go from just an idea to the ambitious company it is today? Much like Helium started with a single Hotspot, Nibiaa’s origin story began with a simple conversation. Professor N. Irabanta Singh, an agricultural researcher for over 40 years, and his son, Aeroshil, who has a background in technology, sat down one day to discuss how agriculture and technology might be combined to help local farmers in India.

Having authored numerous case studies, Singh knew firsthand that farmers rarely read or implemented the findings from his research and others’. This insight led Singh and Aeroshil to create Nibiaa for the purpose of equipping farmers with new agricultural technology for an increase in overall revenue. With close ties to the land, the two also vowed to only produce solutions that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. The two founders were later joined by Sushil Laishram and Dinesh Gurupur, and Nibiaa was born.

Armed with a DeWi grant and the technical chops to back it up, Nibiaa is improving supply chain traceability and other farming challenges using IoT, blockchain, and AI technology. It is also working to develop a smart model to boost the efficiency and reliability of food supply chains, increasing safety and customer satisfaction across the value chain while meeting many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Tea drinkers everywhere can rejoice, knowing that their next cup might be a little better for the planet and their own health thanks to Nibiaa and The People’s Network.

Singh and Aeroshil hail from the Northeastern region of India, which is currently the second-largest tea producer in the world. With a history dating back 150+ years, the industry is characterized by practices that are sometimes outdated and ineffective.

As farmers in other parts of the world adopt new cultivation and production methods, Indian tea farmers are often left with comparably slower processing and distribution channels — resulting in less business and higher costs. With Nibiaa’s solution to improve process issues using IoT and supply chain traceability on the Helium blockchain, farmers are able to pair their expertise and years of experience with new technologies for a competitive edge.

Using Helium-compatible technology, Nibiaa offers its customers a range of premium benefits:

• Data-driven decision making with an AgriTech solution that empowers managers
• Better supply chain visibility with IoT sensors and blockchain traceability, which translates to premium pricing for the tea manufactured in the region
• Precision solutions software and IoT devices that provide data and recommendations to maximize productivity and output
• Environmental and agricultural data such as irrigation levels, and processes such as plucking, pruning, harvesting, and fertilizer application triggers
• Supply chain transparency and management with an integrated track and trace solution

DeWi Grant Steeps Further Innovation

Nibiaa’s four-in-one sensor node, made possible by a DeWi grant, builds on the benefits above by integrating useful data into one device. Made specifically for agricultural applications, it is currently being prototyped and implemented in one of the leading tea gardens in India.

In the future, Nibiaa hopes to expand its vision of connectivity and technological advancement to other industries, including coffee, rubber, and the entire packaged food industry, which is forecasted to be worth 122 billion dollars in India by 2026.

No matter the industry, Nibiaa strives to increase transparency and hopes to build a smart contract system to monitor, track, record, and process digital and physical resources throughout the supply chain.

It’s no surprise that this aspirational company has already been recognized for its commitment to innovation and technological advancement. Nibiaa has numerous accolades, including being selected as:

1. Top 30 Startups selected through NERES 1.0 Competition Organized by IIE
2. Top 5 Startups selected for Octane IoT in Agriculture Competition by STPI- Guwahati
3. Top 15 startups selected for Land Accelerator Program 2021
4. Top 10 Startups Selected for BIRAC BIG 19 Call for innovation in Agriculture and Allied Category with a Grant Amount of 50 lacs( 70K USD)

To learn more about Nibiaa’s history and exciting future, visit www.nibiaadevices.com and www.nibiaa.com, and stay tuned for future updates.