BIGgrow Biostimulant

Climate Foundation

BIGgrow Biostimulant

BIGgrow is a seaweed-based biostimulant that boosts rice yields, reduces fertilizer use, and empowers coastal and smallholder farmers.

Provinz Cebu, Philippinen

PHL

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

The Philippines faces increasing droughts, soil degradation, and rising synthetic fertilizer dependence, which threaten rice farming and food security. Synthetic fertilizers exacerbate soil health issues, leading to pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and weakened ecosystems. Simultaneously, the country struggles with rice import dependence despite having sufficient farmland. Underutilized seaweed farming presents a missed opportunity for sustainable agricultural inputs and improved coastal resilience. Smallholder farmers face limited access to credit for sustainable inputs, which hinders their investments in solutions that improve soil health and crop yields. Moreover, rice and seaweed farming operate in silos, missing opportunities for integration that could address both agricultural and coastal challenges. The perceived risk of investing in small-scale, climate-resilient agriculture further limits financing, leaving farmers with few options for climate-smart solutions. Globally, over 120 million smallholder farmers face the impact of rising fertilizer costs, with price hikes reaching over 100% in 2021 alone. In the Philippines, synthetic fertilizer dependence exacerbates food insecurity and undermines the country's agricultural potential. Currently, the UN’s FAO reported that 51 million Filipinos experienced moderate to severe food insecurity between 2021 and 2023. Food security is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed in the Philippines.

Our solution is BIGgrow, a tropical seaweed-based biostimulant that helps farmers grow more food using less synthetic fertilizer. Made from locally sourced seaweed, BIGgrow is organic and rich in plant hormones like auxins, gibberellins, and cytokinins, which enhance nutrient uptake, improve plant health, and boost resilience to heat, drought, pests, and poor soil. BIGgrow is produced using our transportable seaweed biorefinery system, which gently extracts and preserves bioactive compounds that are often lost in traditional drying methods. The result is a high-quality, shelf-stable liquid that can be applied directly to crops. Field trials in the Philippines show BIGgrow boosts rice yields by 15–30% and cuts synthetic fertilizer use -and related nitrous oxide emissions- by up to 30%. This also reduces soil degradation, nutrient runoff, and eutrophication, mitigating multiple environmental impacts linked to conventional NPK fertilizer use.

Our solution directly benefits smallholder rice farmers and coastal communities involved in seaweed farming—two groups increasingly affected by climate change and economic instability. Rice farmers are struggling with the rising costs and environmental impacts of synthetic fertilizers, which are becoming less reliable due to global price shocks. Many lack access to affordable, sustainable alternatives. BIGgrow offers a locally made, organic solution that improves yields and soil health while reducing reliance on expensive inputs—supporting more stable, climate-resilient farming. Coastal communities, once reliant on seaweed farming, have seen this livelihood decline due to rising seawater temperature and low-value processing options. By introducing localized biostimulant production, we open a new revenue stream for these communities and integrate them into a higher-value agricultural supply chain. Our approach brings direct economic and environmental benefits to these underserved groups—reducing vulnerability, restoring livelihoods, and enabling greater food security across rural areas. Together, these efforts empower farmers to overcome input price volatility, restore degraded soil, and adapt to climate impacts—while reinvigorating coastal economies through sustainable seaweed use.