What is the name of your organization?
Qarbotech Sdn Bhd
What is the name of your solution?
QarboGrow : Future Agri-Input
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
QarboGrow is a sustainable agri-input made from agricultural waste, using carbon nanomaterials to enhance photosynthesis and boost crop productivity.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Malaysia
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Smallholder farmers manage 80% of Asia’s farmland, playing a vital role in food production. With around 350 million farmers sustaining local and global supply chains, they face major challenges—limited land, high input costs, and restricted access to modern farming technologies—leading to low incomes and economic vulnerability.
Climate change intensifies these struggles, bringing unpredictable weather, shifting growing seasons, and extreme events like floods and droughts. If unaddressed, climate-related economic losses in Asia could reach $8.2 trillion by 2048.
Farmers face a tough dilemma: conventional practices rely on fertilizers and pesticides to sustain yields, but these contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental harm. Without these inputs, productivity declines, further threatening livelihoods.
What is your solution?
Our solution leverages carbon nanomaterials derived from agricultural waste to improve farming efficiency and sustainability. These nanomaterials enhance light absorption, accelerating photosynthesis—potentially doubling its rate—leading to healthier, higher-yielding crops.
By boosting photosynthesis, plants absorb more CO₂, reducing atmospheric carbon levels. Additionally, the nanomaterials improve fertilizer efficiency, ensuring better nutrient uptake while minimizing waste, runoff, and environmental pollution. This dual impact transforms agriculture into a more productive and sustainable system, where waste is repurposed to boost crop growth, creating a circular, climate-positive solution.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution serves smallholder farmers—who face declining yields, climate vulnerability, and financial instability—while contributing to global carbon reduction. In 2024, we piloted our carbon nanomaterials across 500 hectares of rice fields in Malaysia and Indonesia, working with over 300 farmers. The results were impressive:
> Yield increases of 11.57% on average (peaking at 45%), translating to $192 more income per hectare.
> Fertilizer efficiency improved, producing 6.2 kg more yield per kilogram of fertilizer use
Beyond financial gains, our solution enhances CO₂ assimilation, reducing emissions by 1.94 tons per hectare of rice fields. Over the past three years, we have collaborated closely with farmers, equipping them with the knowledge to integrate this innovation without disrupting traditional practices. This seamless transition allows them to boost productivity, increase profitability, and adopt more sustainable farming methods with minimal effort.
