Smart Net-Zero

October 20, 2025 | CGIAR |

The featured CGIAR article focuses on food and materials innovation, demonstrating how broken rice starch—which makes up over 15% of milled rice—can be combined with seaweed-derived biopolymers such as agar, alginate, and carrageenan to create nutrient-enhanced, biodegradable, and functionally versatile new products. This research aims to upcycle low-value rice by-products while leveraging seaweed’s gel-forming properties to develop sustainable food materials and packaging alternatives. Scientists emphasize the potential for reducing waste, creating high-value products, and lowering environmental footprints by substituting synthetic polymers. The work supports CGIAR’s broader agenda on circular bioeconomy and resource-efficient value chains, with ongoing studies assessing scalability, industrial applications, and consumer acceptance.