Growing Population Biggest Driver for Agricultural Biotechnology Market

A number of factors, such as the rising need for food products, growing population, surging per capita income, increasing demand for transgenic crops, and high yield of biotech crops, are projected to drive the growth of the agricultural biotechnology market at a CAGR of 10.7% during the forecast period (2021–2030). The market generated $39,565.6 million in 2020, and it is expected to reach $106,870.0 million by 2030. Moreover, the market is witnessing a trend of the surging adoption of biofuels, which are produced from agricultural residue and crops.

One of the prime factors aiding the agricultural biotechnology market is the growing population across the globe, which leads to the increasing need for food products. For instance, as per the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the world’s population increased to 7.7 billion in 2019 from 6.9 billion in 2010. To feed the huge population, a large amount of food is needed. Thus, advanced biotechnological tools are in demand in the agricultural sector to boost the productivity and offer substantial agronomic, environmental, social, and health benefits to farmers. Furthermore, on the basis of product, the market is categorized into crop protection products and transgenic seeds. Between the two, the crop protection products category is expected to record the faster growth in the foreseeable period. This can be ascribed to the technological developments in the agricultural domain, which have empowered farmers to involve suitable pest management solutions. Whereas, the transgenic seeds category held the larger market share in 2020 owing to the rising focus of players to improve the efficacy of farming by reducing the effects of external factors on crops. Globally, North America was the largest agricultural biotechnology market in 2020. This is attributed to the rising adoption of genetically modified crops in the region because of their several benefits over normal crops, including additional nutritional values and resistance to toxic herbicides and pests. Whereas, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market will observe the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the surging adoption of advanced farming techniques to improve farm productivity, so that the regional countries can meet the food demand of their high population.

Why Are Spirulina and Chlorella Most-Popular Single-Celled Protein Sources With the global population set to reach 10.9 billion by 2100, growing from 7.7 billion in 2019, as per the United Nations (UN), the demand for milk and meat is growing rapidly. This is leading to an increase in animal husbandry activities, which is propelling the demand for animal feed. The more nutritious the diet, the better the quantity and quality of the milk and meat produced. For this, a protein-rich diet is important, which is why with the growing cattle population, the demand for spirulina and chlorella is rising. Thus, P&S Intelligence expects the protein extracts from single-cell protein sources market revenue to witness a substantial increase from $5.3 billion in 2017 to $8.7 billion by 2023, at an 8.6% CAGR between 2018 and 2023. Spirulina and chlorella are among the most-popular single-cell proteins (SCP) substituting traditional animal feed items, such as rapeseed, soybeans, and fava beans. Experiments conducted in 2019 showed that when given in conjunction with fava beans to animals, Spirulina platensis increased the milk output of cattle.

Apart from animal feed, these organisms are being used in food supplements for humans. For instance, spirulina is rich in proteins, vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), and B3 (niacin), iron, and copper. Similarly, chlorella has high amounts of proteins, vitamin B12, vitamin C, iron, and omega-3 and small amounts of magnesium, copper, zinc, potassium, folic acid, calcium, and vitamins B 1, 3, and 8. With the increasing health consciousness, people are joining gyms and working out. Gym instructors usually prescribe protein-rich supplements, such as whey protein, chlorella, and spirulina. This is leading to more cycles of sowing and reaping, which are often more than the soil can withstand. As a result, the fertility of the soil reduces, and it needs to be replenished regularly. For decades, chemically synthesized fertilizers have been used on farms, but they have their own set of problems. Thus, there is a rapid shift underway toward organic fertilizers , such as those made from microalgae (spirulina and chlorella). Further, the growing popularity of food claimed as being grown organically is driving the demand for organic fertilizers. Owing to all these reasons, North America was the largest protein extracts from single-cell protein sources market in the past. The continent is home to a hugely productive biotechnology industry, which is utilizing SCPs in innovative ways. Additionally, several conferences and seminars are conducted in the region to impart knowledge on the benefits and potential uses of SCPs. Moreover, people here have a high disposable income, and they are also conscious regarding their health. This leads to a high spending on organic food products, which is propelling the usage of biofertilizers. Therefore, with expanding applications, the consumption of protein extracts from SCPs will increase.