Market Trends of Global Biological Seed Treatment Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Seed Treatment Market according to our research experts:
Rising Trend of Organic Farming
One of the key factors enhancing the biological seed treatment market growth includes the rising trend of organic farming. Organic agriculture is practiced in 187 countries, and 72.3 million hectares of agricultural land were managed organically by at least 3.1 million farmers by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in 2019. Over the past few years, the area under organic farming has significantly increased across the world and was recorded at 74.9 million hectares in 2020, up from 69.5 million hectares in 2017. In 2019, the regions with the leading organic agricultural land areas are Oceania (35.9 million hectares, which is half the world's organic agricultural land) and Europe (16.5 million hectares, 23%). Latin America has 8.3 million hectares (11%), followed by Asia (5.9 million hectares, 8%), North America (3.6 million hectares, 5%), and Africa (2 million hectares, 3%). On a global scale, the organic sector continued to develop rapidly.
Due to COVID-19, consumer awareness of local, safe, and organic food increased, with many countries reporting increasing sales of organic products. However, the demand for organic products is thriving, not only due to a rise in health-conscious consumers but also the growing incomes and improved farming practices that make organic crops more robust. Consequently, the increasing demand for organic food has increased the area under organic farming across the world. In addition, the government is emphasizing the use of biological control methods for disease management.
The proliferation of organic agricultural practices has driven the adoption of biological seed treatment, especially among government-controlled farming communities. Farmers demand an early evaluation of field performance to understand the treatment specification of their crop profile. Hence, the rising organic farming practices with the growing awareness among consumers over health, environmental, quality, and safety, coupled with favorable government policies, is anticipated to boost the biofertilizers market at a phenomenal rate in the forecast period.
Higher Consumption of Biological Seed Treatment in Europe
The increasing insect pest attacks, need for better crop productivity, technological advancements by major players, and increasing incomes with the use of biological seed treatment techniques are leading to the growth of the European region in the market during the forecast period. According to the LIVESEED Project Spain 2020, the rising demand for non-GMO or organic seeds for organic export produces (e.g., peppers in Almeria and Murcia) to offer a product that guarantees export demand and high crop yield enhances the usage of biological seed treatment with bio fungicides, bio nematicides, and biopesticides to promote domestic varieties globally, is further boosting the demand for the market studied during the forecast period.
Loose smut is one of the prominent diseases affecting the cereal crops in the United Kingdom. The disease is most prominent in barley and rare in wheat. The increased concern to prevent the fungal attack of this disease, with the use of biologically treated seeds by Bacillus species, is leading to the growth of the market studied in the coming years. In addition, France introduced a scheme called 'Ecophyto 2018', which aimed at reducing 50% of the synthetic chemical consumption by 2018, which has pushed the demand for bio-based agricultural inputs within the market. German research institutes have been extensively working on advancing biological seed treatment solutions to provide sustainable solutions. Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics launched an electron treatment of seeds, a modern, environmentally friendly method that works without chemical ingredients, and won a DLG award. It was described by the state entity Biologische Bundesanstalt as an alternative method for chemical dressing.
