Challenge

When a harvest season ends, waste from crop yields often remains. Across Southeast Asia, 170 million tonnes of rice husks, straw, coconut shells and other residues are produced yearly, and are frequently discarded or burned in the open. The smoke releases carbon and fine particles into surrounding communities, while repeated burning damages the soil farmers need for their next crop.

Those same farmers have also been exposed to the rising cost of imported fertilisers and accelerating economic instability. Cambodia and several neighbouring countries depend heavily on overseas supplies, making agricultural inputs vulnerable to global price swings and disruptions.

Biochar offers a way to address both pressures. Made by heating agricultural waste without oxygen, it stores carbon and can help improve depleted soils. The difficulty lies in producing it affordably, verifying its climate value and ensuring that the farmers supplying the raw material benefit from the market it creates.

Solution

Arukah Capital has built its model around that final point. Agricultural residues travel from farms and supply partners to its Cambodian plant, where pyrolysis converts them into biochar, renewable syngas and wood vinegar. The biochar is then blended into fertiliser and returned to farmland through established distribution networks.

A digital record follows the material throughout this journey. Invoices, weight tickets and photographs document feedstock deliveries. Inside the plant, operating conditions and biochar output are monitored. Farmers can scan QR codes and log fertiliser batches through a chatbot, connecting the product used in the field with the carbon removed during production.

This traceability is intended to support credible carbon credits and unlock financing from global buyers. Arukah then directs 50 per cent of gross carbon revenue back to farming communities. Farmers gain income from residues that previously held little value, while the company secures the reliable feedstock it needs to expand.

The financial model draws revenue from both carbon credits and the sale of the biochar fertiliser via partnerships with strong local players. Over ten years, the Cambodian plant is projected to generate US$19 million in revenue against US$17.2 million in costs. Of those costs, US$5.11 million is allocated to farmers through the revenue-sharing model.