Biopesticides to become $4.5 billion market in 2023: Lux Research

The nascent biopesticide market is likely to more than double to $4.5 billion in 2023, or about 7% of the total pesticide market, according to Lux Research. Amid concerns over climate change and environmental impacts of farming, the research firm feels that ‘greener’ agricultural technologies are drawing the attention of regulators, producers, and consumers.
 
“Outside pressures will provide new growth opportunities in agriculture. In the case of biopesticides, the EU's ban on neonicotinoid pesticides and health crises like recent accidental poisonings in India will push adoption of these safer products in the future,” said Sara Olson, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report titled, “Green dreams or growth opportunities: assessing the market potential for ‘greener’ agricultural technologies”.
 
“However, being ‘green’ alone is not enough to make a technology a business success. Despite their environmental bona fides, practices like no-till farming and biochar do not present the same type of growth opportunities,” she added.
 
Lux Research analysts examined the potential market opportunities for biopesticides, no-till farming and biochar as fertiliser. The cropland under no-till farming methods will grow from 125 million hectares in 2012 to 400 million hectares in 2023, at a CAGR of 11%. However, most of the impact will come from behaviour change by farmers, with limited opportunity for new or different product sales in the industry.
 
According to Lux Research, biochar - carbonised biomass used as fertiliser - has significant benefits for farmers and for the climate, but prices remain prohibitively expensive, and the market is small and fragmented. An industrial champion that could refine production processes and bring lower-cost biochar to market could change the game, especially if carbon prices rise.