The Agricultural Biologicals Market is expected to reach $20.81 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 12.2% during the forecast period 2022–2029. The growth of this market is mainly driven by the growing organic farming & demand for organic food, growing awareness about environmental safety, rising government initiatives, and increasing investments from leading companies. However, lack of education and awareness among farmers and challenges to new entrants are expected to hinder the growth of this market to a certain extent. Moreover, the huge agricultural diversity and arable land in emerging countries, including Asia-Pacific and Latin America, are expected to offer significant growth opportunities for players operating in the agriculture biologicals market.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Agriculture Biologicals Market
The COVID-19 pandemic adversely hit many economies around the globe. Complete lockdown and quarantine to fight COVID-19 adversely impacted many industries globally, including agriculture and crop protection. In the agriculture sector, the agriculture biologicals market registered a strong slowdown in sales in the first quarter of 2020, mainly due to the disturbance in logistics and transportation. Along with logistics and transportation, the agriculture biologicals market registered interruptions in the entire sector's value chain from raw materials supply to manufacturing, packaging, and distribution.
COVID-19 resulted in the movement restrictions of workers, a decline in demand from farmers, and the closure of production facilities. The industry also suffered severe labor shortages due to repeated lockdowns that affected the production and trade movements. The decline in business for a few initial months in 2020, coupled with lower demand from a few major markets, put pressure on the profitability of agriculture biologicals manufacturers and vendors.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on this market were felt in China starting in 2020, as the country is one of the world's largest raw material suppliers for the agriculture biologicals industry. Most European and North American agriculture biological companies have imported key active ingredients used in producing biologicals, mainly from China and other Asian countries. The current crisis being persistent, suggested low availability of raw materials as the cropping season progressed. This created a scarcity of products in high-growth markets, such as the U.S., Brazil, Spain, and Italy.
Therefore, a complete halt in the transportation and logistics industry and reduced production in some countries due to lockdowns are projected to adversely affect the global agricultural biologicals market in terms of volume sales in 2020 and 2021.
![Agricultural Biologicals Market Agricultural Biologicals Market](https://www.meticulousresearch.com/public/website_images/Agricultural-Biologicals-Market-min.webp)
Click here to: Get Free Sample Pages of this Report
Increasing Government Initiatives to Promote the Use of Biopesticides Fuels the Growth of the Agriculture Biologicals Market
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries (the U.S., Canada, and Mexico) are the world’s major consumers of biopesticides and use up approximately 29% of all the globally sold biopesticides, while the European Union uses 33%. In the U.S., Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages the development and use of biopesticides. The Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (under the Pesticide Programs) was established to facilitate the registration of biopesticides. Since biopesticides tend to pose fewer risks than chemical pesticides, EPA generally requires much less data to register a biopesticide than to register a conventional pesticide. Data about the composition, toxicity, degradation, and other characteristics of the pesticides must be submitted by the registrants to EPA to ensure that a pesticide is safe. Less than a year is often required to register a new biopesticide, compared with more than three years for a chemical pesticide.
As demands in Canada for reduced pesticide use increased, the government created new regulations and management practices. Research has identified new biopesticides, and teams have accelerated their expansion. These factors together have spurred a biopesticide revolution in Canada.
Other countries worldwide also are enacting similar changes in their political and public views toward biopesticides and investment in research. The difference is that Canada has capitalized on discovering the solution to decrease pesticides and has approved biopesticides as a reliable and peaceful replacement strategy. Thus, Canada provides a nice example for other countries to follow.
Also, in the European Union (EU), recent legislation has synchronized with the political will to reduce traditional chemical usage in agriculture and increase biopesticides. The European ban on neonicotinoid pesticides from 2013 has driven many of the region’s growers to seek biopesticide alternatives to protect their crops. According to Biopesticides Industry Alliance (BPIA), 2018, France, Denmark, and Sweden have aggressively reduced overall agriculture chemical use by more than 30%. The French government launched the “EcoPhyto Plan” in 2008 to reduce pesticides and plant protection products in France by 50% till 2018.
In India, several government agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and the Ministry of Science and Technology have promoted research, development, and commercialization of biopesticides and biofertilizers. The Government of India is strongly pushing organic farming by providing subsidies for new biofertilizer/ biopesticide units. The central government of India provides grants in aid of INR 4.5 million for building and INR 2 million for procuring equipment for biocontrol laboratories for producing biocontrol agents, including biopesticides, to state governments. It also provides around INR 2 million for procuring equipment for biopesticides testing laboratories. The requirement for registration of biopesticides has been simplified to facilitate the introduction of biopesticides.
China has also realized that the use of pesticides has created many problems. It has launched a new action plan, “Zero Growth on Chemical Fertilizer and Pesticides by 2020,” to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers. China has also started a collaborative effort with the U.S. EPA on pollution issues, and one outcome of this was adapting registration procedures to favor biopesticides.
Thus, recognizing the ill effects of chemical pesticides such as the development of pest resistance, pest resurgence, the outbreak of secondary pests, and pesticide residues in food, feed, fodder, soil, air, and water resulting in human health hazards and ecological imbalances; most of the countries throughout the world have amended their policies to minimize the use of chemical pesticides and promote the use of the biopesticides. Such a positive role of governments drives the growth of the global biopesticides market.
Key Findings in the Agricultural Biologicals Market Study
The Biostimulant Segment to Grow at the Highest CAGR During the Forecast Period
Based on product, the agricultural biologicals market is segmented into biopesticides, biostimulants, and biofertilizers. The biostimulants segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2022—2029. The growth of this market is mainly attributed to the rising need to increase crop yield and quality, growing organic farming and demand for organic food, a wide range of benefits of biostimulants in crop production, and growing awareness about environmental safety with the use of biostimulants.
In 2022, the Microbials Segment to Dominate the Agricultural Biologicals Market
Based on source, the agricultural biologicals market is mainly segmented into microbials, biochemicals, and others. In 2022, the microbials segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the agricultural biologicals market. The largest share of this market is mainly attributed to the factors such as the higher advantage of selectivity; high effectivity; no adverse effects on humans, plants, and animals; and ease of use. Further, its ease of handling and low-to-no re-entry intervals and post-harvest intervals are expected to spur its demand in the market.
The Liquid Segment to Grow at the Highest CAGR During the Forecast Period
Based on formulation, the agricultural biologicals market is segmented into liquid and dry. The liquid segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2022—2029. The fast growth of this segment is mainly driven due to uniform and easy application, better performance, and higher effective duration (up to 6 months) than that of dry formulation (up to 3 months).
The Foliar Spray Segment to Dominate the Agricultural Biologicals Market in 2022
Based on application, the agricultural biologicals market is segmented into foliar spray, soil treatment, seed treatment, and other application modes. In 2022, the foliar spray segment is expected to account for the largest share of the agricultural biologicals market. This segment’s large share is mainly attributed to the uniform distribution of biochemicals, highest biopesticide use efficiency, and minimum to no wastage of biologicals achieved using the foliar spray technique.
The Cereals & Grains Segment to Grow at the Highest CAGR During the Forecast Period
Based on crop type, the agricultural biologicals market is segmented into fruits & vegetables, cereals & grains, oilseeds & pulses, and other crop types. The cereals & grains segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2022—2029. The fast growth of this segment is driven due to factors such as the increasing demand for organic cereals & grains and the huge area under organic cereal & grain cultivation. Further, growing awareness regarding health and the adverse effects of chemical pesticides on public health is expected to boost the demand for organic cereals and grains in the market.
Europe To Dominate the Agricultural Biologicals Market in 2022
Based on geography, the agricultural biologicals market is segmented into five major geographies: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. In 2022, Europe is expected to account for the largest share of the agricultural biologicals market. The large share of this market is mainly attributed to the increasing demand for organic products, increasing support from the government, increase in adoption of natural products over synthetic products, and increasing health consciousness.
Key Players
The key players operating in the global agricultural biologicals market are Bayer AG (Germany), Koppert B.V. (Netherlands), Marrone Bio Innovations (U.S.), FMC Corporation (U.S.), Gowan Company LLC (U.S.), Vegalab SA (Switzerland), The Stockton Group (Israel), International Panaacea Limited (India), InVivo Group (France), Biolchim Group (Italy), Seipasa S.A. (Spain), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), BASF SE (Germany), Novozymes A/S (Denmark), Andermatt Biocontrol AG (Switzerland), Certis U.S.A. LLC (U.S.), Som Phytopharma India Limited (India), W. Neudorff GmbH KG (Germany), Rizobacter S.A. (Argentina), Lallemand Inc. (U.S.), and Valent U.S.A. LLC (U.S.), among others.
Scope of the Report:
Agricultural Biological Market, by Type
- Bio-Pesticides
- Bio-Stimulants
- Bio-Fertilizers
Agricultural Biological Market, by Source
- Microbial
- Biochemical
- Others
Agricultural Biological Market, by Formulation
Agricultural Biological Market, by Application
- Foliar Spray
- Soil Treatment
- Seed Treatment
- Other Modes of Application
Agricultural Biological Market, by Crop Type
- Fruits & Vegetables
- Cereals & Grains
- Oilseeds & Pulses
- Other Crop Types
Agricultural Biological Market, by Geography
- North America
- Europe
- Spain
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- U.K.
- Rest of Europe
- Asia-Pacific (APAC)
- China
- India
- Australia
- Japan
- Rest of APAC (RoAPAC)
- Latin America
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Chile
- Rest of Latin America (RoLATAM)
- Middle East & Africa
Key Questions Answered in the Report-