GLOBAL AGRIGENOMICS MARKET SIZE AND SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2024-2031)

The agrigenomics market size is expected to reach US$ 7.67 Bn by 2031, from US$ 4.30 Bn in 2024, at a CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period.

Agrigenomics refers to the use of various genomic tools to improve crops. There are different agrigenomics products used in the market. One of the main agrigenomics products are molecular markers which are DNA sequences used to identify specific genes or locations on chromosomes. The main types of molecular markers used are SSR markers, SNP markers, and RFLP markers. These markers help in the DNA fingerprinting of crops which helps in variety development and protecting plant breeders' rights. However, the limitation is that the development of markers is time consuming and expensive.

Another major product is Gene Guns which helps in genetically modifying crops. Using gene gun, the desired gene or DNA is shot into plant tissues using tiny gold or tungsten microprojectiles coated with DNA. The two main types are Biolistics Gene Gun and PDS-1000 He Gene Gun. Gene guns are advantageous as it has high efficiency and works on a wide variety of plant species and tissue types. However, the major limitation is that it causes damage to plant tissues and only a few cells may get transformed.

Agrigenomics Market Regional Analysis:

• North America has established itself as the dominant region in the global agrigenomics market. North America is expected to expand at a CAGR of 40% during the forecast period. With the presence of major players like Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta, the region enjoys strong industry support for R&D activities. The large scale farming practices and willingness to adopt advanced technologies have made America and Canada pioneers in applying genomics in the agriculture sector. Several universities in the U.S. such as Cornell, Illinois, and Purdue work closely with corporations to develop high-yielding and disease-resistant crop varieties. Stringent regulatory norms ensure products meeting quality standards for local consumers and global exports. Farmers recognize benefits of agrigenomics aided solutions and are ready to pay premium prices for genetically modified seeds and crop protection chemicals.
• The Asia Pacific region has emerged as the fastest growing market for agrigenomics. Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a CAGR of 30% during the forecast period. Countries like China, India, and Japan are focusing on improving yield and boosting output to address the rising food demand of their booming populations. Governments provide funding and incentives for research collaborations involving public institutions, private companies, and grower communities. This encourages rapid commercialization and adoption of innovations. While regulations are still evolving, the acceptance of biotechnology is increasing among Asian farmers as it helps increase productivity and farm income. Rapid modernization of agriculture along with supportive trade policies in the key APAC nations will continue propelling market expansion in the coming years.
• Europe is expected to expand at a CAGR of 15% during the forecast period. The market is expected to witness significant growth due to the increasing demand for agrigenomics in various industries such as food, beverages, healthcare, pharmaceutical, personal care, home care, and automotive.
• Latin America is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8% during the forecast period. The regional agrigenomics market includes the increasing demand for improved crop health and yield, rising investments in research and government initiatives, technological advancements in genomics and agriculture, and growing awareness for health and wellness.
• Middle East & Africa is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7% during the forecast period. The market is expected to witness significant growth due to the increasing demand for agrigenomics in food and beverages.

Figure 1. Agrigenomics Market Share (%), By Region, 2024

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Analyst’s Viewpoint:

The agrigenomics market shows significant promise driven by the rising demand for higher crop yields. Genome-based technologies are enabling the development of crops that are more nutritious, resistant to diseases and pests, and better suited for changing climatic conditions. North America currently dominates the market owing to heavy investments in agritech research. However, Asia Pacific is expected to see the fastest growth given the region's large population and need to boost agricultural productivity.

While gene editing tools like clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats provide opportunities to edit plant genomes more efficiently, regulatory hurdles and public acceptance of gene modification technologies continue to restrain the industry. As agrigenomics improves understanding of plant genomes, it allows identification of specific gene sequences responsible for desired traits. This presents an opportunity for more targeted and sustainable crop breeding approaches over long-term trials-and-error methods.

Continued reduction in genome sequencing costs as well as advancement of bioinformatics tools for large data analysis are also driving wider adoption of agrigenomics. Nevertheless, limited infrastructure and capacity for advanced research in developing nations pose challenges. Further widespread commercialization will rely on successful demonstration of agrigenomics techniques to deliver tangible yield gains or other economic benefits to farmers.

Agrigenomics Market- Drivers

• Population Growth and Food Security Needs: The global population is constantly growing and is expected to reach around 9.7 Bn people by 2050 according to UN population projections. With more mouths to feed, the pressure on the global food supply will continue to rise in the coming decades. There is an urgent need to boost agricultural productivity and production to meet this growing demand for food. Advanced technologies in agrigenomics can help address the looming food security challenge by enabling the development of new crop varieties that are high-yielding, more resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses, and better adapted to different climatic conditions. Gene editing and other agrigenomics techniques allow targeted enhancement of traits related to yield potential, drought tolerance, pest and disease resistance in major staple crops. This can significantly increase total farm outputs to fulfill the nutrition requirements of the swelling worldwide population. Ensuring food security for future generations is a top priority around the world and agrigenomics offers promising solutions in sustainably intensifying agricultural systems and narrowing the gap between food demand and supply.
• Sustainability and Climate Change Adaptation: Another major driver is the rising need to develop more sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural practices. Traditional agricultural methods have placed tremendous strain on natural resources like land, water and biodiversity over the years. Additionally, the impacts of climate change such as changing rainfall patterns, rising temperatures and frequent extreme weather events are posing serious risks to global food production. There is a pressing demand for climate-smart farming approaches that enhance resource efficiency while bolstering crop tolerance against various abiotic stresses. Agrigenomics can play a pivotal role in the transition towards more sustainable food systems through techniques like genome editing, marker-assisted breeding and genomics-led variety selection. These technologies enable creation of varieties that require less water and fertilizer for comparable yields. They also aid in breeding stress-tolerant strains suited for diverse climatic conditions. This helps agriculture sector build resilience against climate vagaries while reducing environmental Footprint of farming activities. These benefits are fueling significant investments in agrigenomics research aimed at developing next-gen climate-ready crop varieties.

Agrigenomics Market- Opportunities

• Growing application of CRISPR technology in agrigenomics: CRISPR technology has opened up new avenues for agrigenomics that can be harnessed for significant benefits. As a precision gene editing tool, it allows for targeted improvements in crops more efficiently than previous methods. This means traits that increase biotic and abiotic stress resistance, or enhance yield and nutrition, can be developed and deployed much faster to help address global food security challenges. Several applications of CRISPR in agriculture are already underway and showing promise. For example, researchers have successfully edited the gene responsible for coded domestication in wheat, making it possible to introduce improved traits from wild wheat varieties into domesticated crops (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 2021). Similarly, Corteva Agriscience is a publicly traded, global pure-play agriculture company that provides farmers around the world with a complete portfolio of products and services Corteva Agriscience is working on editing cassava genes to increase its resistance to brown streak disease virus, which could help protect small-holder farmers' livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa (Corteva Agriscience, 2022). As more such innovations come to fruition over the next few years, they will support sustainable intensification of agriculture needed to feed our growing population.

Going forward, CRISPR is also expected to enable targeted gene drives that can alter traits across entire populations, offering new ways to control pests or spread beneficial traits. While regulatory issues still need addressing, such technology could transform pest and disease management if properly implemented. Overall, as the tool's applications broaden to include more complex edits and whole genome redesign, it is likely to substantially raise agrigenomics productivity and positively impact global food security for decades to come. As such, CRISPR presents perhaps the greatest opportunity for growth that the agrigenomics market has seen. If its potential is responsibly harnessed, it could galvanize the industry and establish agriculture on a more sustainable trajectory.

• Growing application of agrigenomics in livestock: The application of agrigenomics in the livestock sector presents a huge opportunity for growth in the agrigenomics market. Agrigenomics allows for more precise breeding of livestock with desirable traits like higher growth rates, improved feed efficiency, enhanced meat quality, and disease resistance. This proves beneficial for both farmers and consumers. By utilizing technologies like genomic selection and genome editing, agrigenomics is helping livestock farmers breed animals that are more productive and suitable for changing climate conditions. For example, genomic selection helped dairy farmers in Australia increase milk production in their herds by around 5-10% compared to conventional breeding methods alone. This directly improves farm profits. At the same time, consumers get access to affordable animal proteins that are nutritious and produce sustainably with lower environmental footprint.

The livestock sector worldwide is constantly undergoing changes to meet burgeoning global demand for animal foods amidst challenges of climate change. Agrigenomics tools can play a major role in developing resilient and productive breeds. For instance, researchers in the U.K. utilized genome editing to produce Cows that naturally produce less methane - a powerful greenhouse gas - without compromising on milk yields. Advancements like this will be crucial for the livestock industry to reduce its carbon footprint in the coming years.

Many developing countries are showing increasing interest in agrigenomics applications for livestock. For example, according to data by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, countries such as Brazil, China, and Mexico have been significantly expanding their research efforts in this area over the past 5 years. As their middle-classes grow and consumption of meat and dairy rises, localized agrigenomics solutions can help farmers in these nations breed animals adapted to local conditions and meet evolving consumer preferences. This points towards immense scope for the global agrigenomics market catering to the livestock sector.

Agrigenomics Market- Trends

• Virtual reality/drone tech integration: The integration of virtual reality and drone technologies is having a transformative impact on the agrigenomics market. The use of virtual reality tools allows agricultural researchers and seed companies to visualize crops and farms in 3D simulated environments. This helps them more efficiently conduct experimentation related to crop genetics, characteristics and performance under different conditions without having to physically visit fields.virtual reality simulations can easily manipulate various agricultural variables like weather, soil types, pests and diseases to test thousands of possibilities in a short time from the comfort of an office.

This leads to faster research and development cycles. For example, researchers at the University of Illinois used VR simulations in 2021 to test different drought-resistant traits on virtual corn fields, helping them identify the most promising strains for real-world trials months in advance. VR also helps seed and chemical companies design specialized, location-specific seed and input packages tailored to each farm's unique terroir. They can visualize how crops may respond in any given microclimate. This translational research enhances productivity and sustainability outcomes for growers.

The integration of drones further aids agrigenomics applications. Multispectral and thermal cameras attached to drones capture precision field data at different crop growth stages. Companies can then correlate this imagery data with a farm's varied soil composition, topography and micro-weather patterns mapped into their VR simulations. This helps gain deeper insights into how genetic traits interact with their physical environment. For instance,2022, Yara, a fertilizer major, deployed drone data in 2022 across midwestern U.S. farms to study nitrogen efficiency in experimental wheat varieties in their virtual test fields. Such real-world calibration and validation improves the predictive capabilities of VR, expediting the development of climate-resilient seeds and farming practices.

• Expanding application scope of digital agriculture: The digital agriculture trend is significantly influencing the agrigenomics market as it allows for more advanced and precise agricultural applications. With increased use of sensors, robotics, artificial intelligence and other digital tools in farms, there is far greater scope for applying agrigenomics techniques.

Precision agriculture enabled by digital tools allows for targeted and zoned application of inputs like water, fertilizers and pesticides based on real-time field conditions. Genomic information of crops can be combined with soil and weather data to determine exactly what genetic traits and management practices would be most suitable for maximum yields. This helps farmers optimize the use of resources. For example, in India, sensors are being used to collect over 50 demographic and agricultural parameters along 1,000 km of canal length, benefiting over 6 million farmers.

Similarly, by correlating genetic data of livestock with performance records, digital solutions can aid in more accurate selection of high yielding breeds tailored to local conditions. Gene editing techniques also now have broader scope due to digitally powered identification of precise genome targets for desirable economic traits. For instance, the African Cassava Whitefly-Resistant project by International Institute of Tropical Agriculture used genomics to develop cassava varieties resistant to the whitefly pest, benefiting over 0.20 Bn people in Africa.

Such expanded applications of agrigenomics through digital integration provide valuable insights for driving research and product development. They also boost demand for genotyping, sequencing and gene editing services. According to the Indian government's inter-ministerial committee report, digital technology interventions increased farmer income in India by 16-18% during 2014-15 to 2019-20.This underscores farmers' growing reliance on precision-agriculture solutions and validates the opportunities for personalized agrigenomics services.

Agrigenomics Market- Restraints

• Regulatory uncertainties and intellectual property issues: One of the major restraints faced by players in the agrigenomics market is regulatory uncertainties and intellectual property issues associated with genetically modified crops. Different countries have varying regulations regarding the commercial release and import of GM crops. The complex and stringent approval processes increase the time and costs involved in commercializing GM seeds and plants. Moreover, intellectual property rights over plant varieties developed using genetic engineering techniques continue to remain ambiguous in some regions. Disputes related to patent protection and licensing of biotech seeds negatively impact market confidence. Addressing such regulatory and IP barriers will be crucial for driving long-term growth of the agrigenomics market.
• High costs associated with research and product development: The high costs associated with agrigenomics research and new product development also acts as a key restraint on the market. Developing improved plant varieties using advanced genomic techniques such as genome editing, marker-assisted breeding, and genetic engineering is a highly expensive, time-consuming, and complex process. It requires substantial investments in developing genomic tools and technologies, sequencing of plant genomes, performance trials, and regulatory approvals. The overall costs involved in R&D and commercialization have increased manifolds in recent years. This high capital expenditure poses significant challenges, particularly for startups and small firms. Addressing the financial barriers through government funding and partnerships will be important to support continued innovation in this market.

Segment Analysis:

Molecular diagnostics driving force behind genotyping segment growth

Within the agrigenomics market, genotyping is the largest and most lucrative segment. This is owing to the increasing use of molecular diagnostic techniques for genotyping applications in agriculture. Marker-assisted selection enables identification of crop varieties with desirable genetic traits such as high yield potential, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. Molecular diagnostics provide a robust, accurate and affordable means for identifying genetic markers associated with such traits of interest. Techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA microarrays have enabled large-scale genotyping studies across various crops. This allows breeding programs to screen breeding lines more efficiently and develop superior varieties in a shorter timeframe.

Additionally, declining costs of sequencing and development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms have boosted genotyping adoption. Compared to older techniques, NGS allows genotyping thousands of markers simultaneously in a highly parallel and affordable manner. Service providers are aggressively promoting NGS-based genotyping panels tailored for major crops. This has further increased genotyping usage by small and medium breeders who previously lacked resources for extensive genotyping. Continuous technological upgrades are additionally expanding the applications of genotyping beyond traditional breeding. For instance, genotyping is finding use in verifying seed purity, identifying hybrids, tracking seed variety usage by farmers, and resolving intellectual property issues concerning seed germplasm.

The genomics revolution and open-access variety genome sequences of major crops have also stimulated genotyping demand. Large-scale analyses of naturally occurring genetic variations and their impact on phenotypic traits are providing unprecedented insights into crop genomes. Breeding programs can thus design customized genotyping assays for select traits of economic importance. With maturation of sequencing technologies and steady decline in genotyping costs, adoption rates are expected to rise exponentially over the coming years, cementing genotyping’s position as the largest segment in the Agrigenomics market.

Trait development driving force behind DNA sequencing segment growth

When it comes to market segmentation in terms of technology, DNA sequencing accounts for the highest share in the Agrigenomics industry. This primacy of sequencing stems from its widespread and continually expanding applications in trait development for superior crop varieties. With new sequencing platforms becoming more cost-effective and user-friendly, sequencing is playing a central role in fuelling the ongoing agricultural revolution.

At the front end, sequencing diverse germplasm aids in identifying valuable genetic variations that impact important agronomic traits. It allows mining crop gene banks and landraces for versions of genes conferring resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Sequencing also assists in characterizing genetic diversity present in breeding pools of different crop programs. At the back end, sequencing helps introgress identified variants into high-yielding varieties through marker-assisted selection. It enables tracking desired genes and ensuring trait retention over multiple breeding generations.

Sequencing further supports trait stacking efforts. Combining sequences of varieties with individual stress tolerance genes facilitates development of multigenic stress-resilient crops. By deciphering regulatory networks and gene expressions underlying complex traits, sequencing creates opportunities for tailored genetic modifications. Emerging applications encompass genome editing enabled by sequencing-based design of programmable nucleases. As sequencing costs keep dropping and analysis skills progress, its utility in accelerating varietal enhancement will continue catalyzing growth in the DNA sequencing segment of the Agrigenomics industry.

Recent Developments:

• In February 2023,  Tecan Genomics Inc collaborated with Singular Genomics to use the turnkey. MagicPrep NGS system to create sequencing-ready libraries for the G4 sequencing platform. The agreement will combine Tecan's expertise in laboratory automation, genomics, and bioinformatics with Singular Genomics' fast, flexible, and highly accurate sequencing technology to simplify life in the lab. Tecan Genomics Inc. is a Swiss company providing laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics, clinical diagnostics, and medical research.

Figure 2. Agrigenomics Market Share (%), By Application, 2024

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Top Companies in the Agrigenomics Market

• BGI
• Illumina, Inc.
• Eurofins Scientific SE
• LGC Limited
• Arbor Biosciences
• Biogenetic Services Inc.
• Galseq Srl Via Italia
• Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.
• Agilent Technologies Inc.
• Tecan Genomics Inc.

Definition- Agrigenomics, also known as agricultural genomics, refers to the application of genomics in agriculture to enhance crop and livestock productivity, sustainability, and genetic diversity. It involves the study of the genomes of crops and livestock to improve their productivity, nutritional content, and adaptability to local conditions. Agrigenomics plays a crucial role in the development of novel crops that are more resilient to changing environmental conditions, such as drought or heat tolerance, and require fewer pesticides. This field utilizes genomic advances to accelerate the development of crops with desirable agronomic traits, and it also aids in the conservation of genetic diversity within crop and livestock populations.