When the Rains Stop, Farmers Pay the Price
The 2023–2024 Super El Niño was one of the most intense climate events in recorded history for Southeast Asia. Prolonged drought swept across Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, reducing soil moisture, accelerating weed competition, and cutting cassava yields by an estimated 6–10% in a single season across the region.
Across Southeast Asia, more than 10 million smallholder farming households depend on cassava as a primary source of income. In Thailand alone, over 500,000 farm families cultivate cassava on an estimated 8–9 million rai. In Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, the crop supports rural communities across hundreds of thousands of additional hectares. When drought strikes, it is these families who absorb the loss first and hardest.
Climate science projects that El Niño events will intensify in both frequency and severity. Agricultural solutions that conserve soil moisture, suppress weeds without herbicides, and leave no toxic residue in the soil are no longer optional. They are essential infrastructure for food security and rural livelihoods across the entire region.
Roseco BioMulchfilm: From the Cassava Field, For the Cassava Field
Roseco BioMulchfilm is a compostable agricultural mulch film made from tapioca starch — the same crop it is designed to protect. Applied to cassava beds before planting, the black film creates a microclimate that retains soil moisture during dry spells, suppresses weed competition, and regulates soil temperature to support root development.
In field trials in Vientiane, Lao and Korat, Thailand, plots using Roseco BioMulchfilm delivered a 20–30% yield uplift compared to unmulched control plots under the same drought conditions.
After harvest, the film fully biodegrades in the soil. There is no plastic film to collect, no microplastic contamination to manage, and no residue that accumulates season after season. As plastic mulch bans accelerate across the EU and regulatory scrutiny increases in Asia, BioMulchfilm offers farmers a future-proof alternative that performs better and leaves the land cleaner.
Three Problems. One Film.
Yield Resilience Under Drought
By retaining soil moisture and suppressing weeds, BioMulchfilm helps cassava plants maintain growth during dry periods. Trial results show 20–30% higher yields versus unmulched plots — a meaningful income difference for smallholder families.
Zero Microplastic Contamination
Conventional plastic mulch films fragment into microplastics that accumulate in agricultural soil for decades. BioMulchfilm fully biodegrades after harvest, leaving no toxic residue and keeping the soil healthy for future seasons.
Circular by Design
Made from tapioca starch — a renewable, agricultural co-product — BioMulchfilm closes the loop. The cassava crop feeds the film, and the film feeds the cassava. This is what genuine circular agriculture looks like in practice.
Roseco BioMulchfilm at the NAFRI-CIAT Facility
Roseco BioMulchfilm in the NAFRI-CIAT cassava multiplication block, Vientiane, Lao PDR. Filmed on-site with NAFRI and CIAT research teams.
NAFRI
National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Lao PDR
Host institution and field trial partner. NAFRI provides research infrastructure, agronomic expertise, and government linkages across Lao PDR.
Learn moreCIAT / Alliance of Bioversity International
Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
Cassava research and seed systems expertise. CIAT operates the Future Stems Centre and leads the regional cassava disease management programme across 4 SEA countries.
Learn moreRoseco by Thai Wah
Roseco Bioplastics — a Thai Wah brand
Bioplastic film technology and supply. Roseco provides BioMulchfilm made from tapioca starch, combining 75+ years of Thai Wah agri-food heritage with advanced polymer science.
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