The global biocontrol market is estimated to be valued at USD 6.6 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 13.7 billion by 2027, recording a CAGR of 15.8% during the forecast period.
Some macroeconomic and microeconomic elements that have been prevalent in some important countries have had an impact on the global biocontrol market. In terms of value sales, this would be strong enough to significantly influence the market during the predicted period. The need for biocontrol crop protection solutions in the agricultural sector has been greatly increased by the surge in demand and preference for organic food products, pest resistance management, residue management, and environmental restrictions. ,Biopesticides and semiochemicals are safer alternatives to conventional chemical-based pesticides.
Drivers: Rapid spike in pest proliferation as a consequence of climate change
Plant diseases and pests are more frequent as a result of climatic circumstances’ rapid changes. Climate change has a considerable impact on agricultural productivity and pest susceptibility throughout time. Changing climatic circumstances make crops more vulnerable to various illnesses and pests, which reduces crop production as a whole. As a result, climate change not only causes farming practises to diverge but also lower crop output. These elements have increased farmers’ reliance on high-quality crop protection products for efficient pest prevention, driving up market demand for biocontrol over the coming few years. Thus, it is anticipated that during the research period, demand for biocontrols will rise.
Restraints: Limitations imposed by technology for the use of biocontrols
The fact that biological solutions have a short shelf life and a significant chance of contamination is one of their main drawbacks. Thus, one of the main causes for concern is the persistence of microbes during storage. Other critical factors that affect shelf life include sunlight exposure, culture mediums, the physiological state of microorganisms at harvest, temperature management during storage, and the water activity of inoculants. The effectiveness of the active substance can occasionally be hampered by the host’s bioavailability. All these technological limitations together have restrained the use of biocontrols.
Opportunities: Pests developing resistance to chemical pesticides
Major Site-specific pesticides have been able to provide crop protection over the past few decades. However, plant pathogenic bacteria & fungi and insect pests are developing resistance to chemicals and can adapt to crop protection chemicals through mutations, which, in turn, has led to reduced efficacy and pest resurgence. This rapid erosion of fungicidal activities against resistant pathogens represents a major challenge for the growth of the chemical pesticides market and an opportunity for biocontrol market.
Challenges: Preference of agricultural producers in emerging economies for synthetic pesticides
Asia-Pacific and other emerging markets are extremely dynamic and fluid. In contrast to farmers in the West, those in these areas have modest landholdings. They also have little purchasing power and are vulnerable to economic swings. Additionally, local growers are unaware of the benefits of biocontrol and organic methods. As a result, they are more profit-driven and concentrated on effective production that can produce outcomes quickly. Although there are some minimal government rules, they are not as rigorous in emerging nations. As a result, in these areas, farmers favour chemical pesticides. However, import restrictions and a steady rise in cultivator knowledge are persuading farmers to choose biosolutions which will steadily push the demand for biocontrol crop protection solutions during the forecast period.
The key players in this market include BASF SE (Germany), Bayer AG (Germany), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), and Corteva Agriscience (US).
