Market Introduction

The global agricultural biotechnology market was valued at USD 131 billion in 2024 and grew at a CAGR of 8.35% from 2025 to 2034. The market is expected to reach USD 292.11 billion by 2034. The increasing global population and need to ensure global food security will drive the growth of the global agricultural biotechnology market.

Agricultural biotechnology is an area of science that uses technological applications and biological procedures to increase agricultural productivity, sustainability and food quality is agricultural sector. It encompasses various practices encompassing genetic engineering, molecular markers, tissue culture and molecular diagnostics in a bid to increase crop yields, build resistance to pests and diseases. It also helps in making crops more resistant to the extreme weather events. Among the most well-known examples is the production of genetically modified (GM) crops, including the so-called Bt-cotton or herbicide-resistant soybeans that have been altered with the genes of other organisms to get the required features. These developments make farming effective and eco-friendly by minimizing the reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizer. In agricultural biotechnology, biology and technology are also applied in livestock where it aids disease resistance, reproductive performance, conversion ratio in terms of better feed performance by selective breeding aided with genetic tools. Moreover, microbial biotechnology is used in developing biofertilizers and biopesticides as a substitute or alternative to synthetic chemicals. Rise in global population, climate change and straining natural resources suggest that agricultural biotechnology is viewed as a primary innovation to guarantee food security, mitigate environmental impacts and promote sustainable agriculture.

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Recent Development

• Terrana Biosciences, a new agricultural technology business created by Flagship Pioneering, is creating RNA-based crop protection and enhancement solutions.  After four years of platform development, the firm emerges with an initial commitment of $50 million from Flagship Pioneering.  The development of tailored goods that can function throughout a plant's lifecycle and produce solutions that adapt to changing climatic circumstances is made possible by Terrana's patented RNA technology platform.  In addition to creating a pipeline of more than 15 possible products in speciality and row crops, the company has already shown proof of concept in tomatoes, maize and soy.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Technological advancements and the increasing demand for sustainable agricultural practices – The driving force behind the global agricultural biotechnology market is mostly concentrated in the area of innovation, technological development and industry dynamics. The fast pace of research and development (R&D), especially in the genetic engineering methods including CRISPR-Cas9, RNA interference (RNAi) and marker-assisted selection, are driving the market’s growth. These devices allow the creation of crops that have better characteristics such as resistance to pests, drought resistance, and greater nutritional content that are in greater demand in the modern market. The introduction of the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops has played a key role in enhancing the popularity of agricultural biotechnology in particular countries where the farming activities have been industrialized and are conducted on large scales. Biotech seeds that perform well do not only enhance the quantity of the product, but they also cut down chemical use, a measure that has both economic and environmental benefits. The other important market driver is the increasing number of strategic alliances, partnerships and mergers between biotechnology companies, Agri-tech companies, and research organizations. Such joint ventures are useful in resource pooling, rapid innovation and market extension. Another prominent role is also played by technological integration; bio technologies used in farm life are already being integrated with digital tools like artificial intelligence (AI), prescriptive farming technologies and remote sensing. The combination promotes improved and focused, agricultural activities, a feature that improves their effectiveness and sustainability.

Restraints

High costs of development – A high cost of research and development (R&D) is one of the biggest obstacles. Genetic engineering of a crop is a complex process that requires years and millions of dollars to develop a single genetically modified crop because of complicated genetic engineering, field-testing procedures, and biosafety evaluation. Such expenses usually restrict the presence of small and mid-sized firms, thereby limiting innovation. They also have a very long development and regulatory approval process of products that usually take 8 to 12 years to commercialize which further slows down the market dynamism by discouraging quicker innovation. The second restraining force is the absence of technical knowledge and biotechnology facility in most developing nations. Such a disparity in local development and adoption of agricultural biotechnology solutions limits agricultural production solutions in areas where yield increasing, climate-resilient technologies could have the greatest benefits. Additionally, biotech seeds are distributed at higher prices than the conventional ones thus becoming unaffordable to smallholder farmers who form the majority in most regions. Such a problem in pricing not only restricts the adoption, but also it causes a certain dependency on the subsidies and external support.

Opportunities

Growing emphasis on environmental sustainability – rising levels of droughts, flooding, and the deterioration of soil are compelling both the governments and farmers to embrace the resilient crop variety produced by biotechnology. In addition, the fact that there is a dire need to take care of food security, particularly in populations exhibiting very high growth in Asia and Africa makes agricultural biotechnology of utmost importance as a means through which sustainable food production can be achieved.

Segment Analysis

Regional segmentation analysis

The regions analyzed for the market include North America, Europe, South America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. North America emerged as the most significant global agricultural biotechnology market, with a 37% market revenue share in 2024.

North America is the leading market leader in agricultural biotechnology on the international platform owing to its high levels of agricultural infrastructure, regulation control processes, and use of genetically modified (GM) crop cultivation. The US especially is the global leader in the production, marketing and commercialization of biotech crops such as soybean, corn and cotton. The biotechnology industry faces a favourable research and development environment in terms of how much the industry invests in research and development, the level of cooperation between the different state and biotechnology companies and the government policies in favour of the industry. The availability of big investors in the industry like Monsanto, Corteva Agriscience or Syngenta also enhances the leadership of the region. Furthermore, farmers in North America have quickly turned to GM crops due to their pest resistance, herbicide tolerance and increased yield. Moreover, the regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offer the relatively straight-forward and science-based approval mechanism of biotech products allowing their quick commercialization in comparison to more regulated localities.

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Type Segment Analysis

The type segment is divided into genetically modified (GM) crops, molecular diagnostics, genetic engineering services and molecular markers. The genetically modified (GM) crops segment dominated the market, with a market share of around 38% in 2024. Genetic modification (GM) of crops leads the field of agricultural biotechnology since it has tested the capability of solving serious problems of the agricultural sector that includes pest infestation, weeds control, climatic pressure, and agricultural security. There is an increasing trend of GM crop adoption especially in the last two decades in those countries with large scale commercial agriculture like in United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and India. GM products such as soybean, corn, cotton and canola have become ideal alternatives amongst farmers due to their capacity to increase yield as well as minimize the need of chemical products such as pesticides and herbicides. For example, crops such as herbicide-tolerant crops make the process of controlling weeds simpler and reduces the efforts needed in controlling them and hence less manpower is required to accomplish this making it economically sustainable as well as improving environmental sustainability. In addition, GM crops are very appealing to farmers because of their scalability and cost-effectiveness, and farmers whose activities are located in areas that are vulnerable to prevailing climatic changes. The market penetration of GM crops in those jurisdictions where regulatory conditions are conducive and the level of the technological infrastructure is good is exceptional.

• Heather C. Merritt, Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy Jakarta, attended the Indonesia Agricultural Biotechnology Showcase. The event was organised by the U.S. Embassy in partnership with the Indonesian Biosafety Commission (KKH).  Speakers from all throughout Indonesia and the US attended the event, which was hosted at the @america centre in Jakarta and honoured Indonesia's achievements in agricultural biotechnology.  As one of 32 nations worldwide, that are growing genetically engineered (GE) crops, Indonesia has previously planted late blight-resistant potatoes, drought-tolerant sugarcane, and pest-resistant maize.  Other cutting-edge goods are in the works, but they must pass through expensive and time-consuming approval procedures. If these procedures were simplified and made more effective, Indonesia could increase its biotechnology R&D and production.

Trait Segment Analysis

The trait segment is divided into herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, drought tolerance and nutritional enhancement. The herbicide tolerance segment dominated the market, with a market share of around 37% in 2024. Fast becoming integrated into large-scale commercial agriculture in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Canada are herbicide-tolerant crops. Glyphosate-resistant crops is the most common herbicide tolerance system methodology that allows working with a post-emergency type of control of weeds by using only one, most efficient herbicide. This saves more on the number and intensity of herbicide application besides the adoption of no-till farming which enhances the soil structure and helps in the minimization of greenhouse gases. Farmers grow herbicide-tolerant crops because of the operational comfort and economic decision that it attains as it saves them a lot of costs, especially in areas where large-scale monoculture has been adopted. In addition, the fact that herbicide-tolerant crops boost the economic conditions of the farmers means that millions of hectares of farmland across the world are being switched to it fast and ensure that the crops remain dominant in the market.

• The first genome-edited rice varieties have been approved in India, indicating a move towards high-performing, more sustainable crops created without the use of foreign DNA.  These novel rice lines, developed with the CRISPR-Cas9 system, depend on precise gene editing to increase resilience and productivity, in contrast to genetically modified organisms (GMOs).  Pusa rice DST1 and DRR Dhan 100, created by scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), both under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), were released by India's agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Application Segment Analysis

The application segment is divided into crop production, animal agriculture, aquaculture, biofuels and environmental protection. The crop production segment dominated the market, with a market share of around 42% in 2024. The most booming application industry in the global agricultural biotechnology market comprises crop production that constitutes the highest share because it is at the centre of food security provision, farm productivity and dietary demands of the increasing world population. Biotechnology in agriculture has drastically changed the agricultural crop production since it has made it possible to develop genetically modified (GM) crops that have better characteristics like resistance to pests, resistant to herbicides, resistant to drought, and better nutritional value. The innovations enable farmers to realize improved production yields with low cost of inputs and crop production is more efficient, predictable and sustainable. The prevalence of planted biotech crop such as soybean, corn, cotton, and canola in major agricultural economies particularly in United States, Brazil, Argentina, and India has strengthened the control of crop production along with the biotechnology market. It is highly economically important because these crops are known to be widely used in food, feed, fibre, as well as biofuel. Moreover, the increasing rate of climate-related issues (droughts, soil salinity, temperature, etc.) has led to the increase in demand of biotech solutions increasing crop resilience. As long as technology drives innovative techniques and there is a growing demand in sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of doing agriculture, crop production has been the most influential and commercially powerful field of application in agricultural biotechnology.

• One of the top green enterprises in America and the world for 2025 is a rapidly expanding company that grew out of the prestigious i.Lab Incubator at the Batten Institute of the Darden School of Business. TIME and Statista Inc. have named AgroSpheres, an agricultural biotechnology firm based in Charlottesville, one of the World's Top GreenTech Companies 2025 and America's Top GreenTech Companies 2025.  The company's contributions to sustainable agriculture through cutting-edge biobased technologies—basically, producing natural crop protection solutions that assist farmers in producing food in a more environmentally friendly manner—are highlighted by this accolade.

Crop type Segment Analysis

The crop type segment is divided into soybean, corn, cotton, canola and fruits & vegetables. The soybean segment dominated the market, with a share of around 40% in 2024. It has gained significance as one of the major oilseed and source of proteins in the world with a variety of uses that include human foods, animal foodstuff and biodiesel. This property of GM soybean has made it very appealing particularly in the economies that practice mass scale production of soybean such as the United States, Brazil and Argentina collectively, of which the soybean account most of the production in the world. The use of GM soybean has also led to increase in the level of yield, lower input costs and increased farm profitability. Furthermore, soy beans with enhanced quality and oil and resistance to disease are on the increase due to the use of biotechnology with all these benefiting its market potential more. The fact that the crop is adapted to various climate conditions and soils requirements has contributed to its cultivation in wide areas of agricultural lands which has made it a backbone of commercialized agriculture both in developed countries and developing ones. Moreover, the international demand of plant-based proteins and vegetable oil has increased tremendously, which has boosted the applicability of soybean in the market. Due to this diversity and biotech-enabled performance benefits it has become the preferred crop type in the biotechnology agricultural sector.

Some of the Key Market Players

• Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.
• BASF SE
• Bayer CropScience
• Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp.
• Calyxt, Inc.
• Corteva Agriscience
• Evogene Ltd.
• KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA
• Nufarm Limited
• Origin Agritech Ltd.
• Syngenta AG
• Vilmorin & Cie SA

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