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Indiana’s agbioscience sector contributes as much to the state’s economy as auto manufacturing does, a new AgriNovus Indiana report says—and the report also identifies several growth opportunities for the agbioscience sector over the next few decades.
The report, called Accelerate 2050 and released this week, looks at the current state of Indiana’s agbioscience sector. AgriNovus defines this sector as encompassing agricultural production, value-added food and nutrition, plant science and crop protection, animal health and nutrition, and agricultural technology.
The report was produced by RTI International, an independent and not-for-profit research institute based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
According to the report, Indiana’s agbioscience sector employs 147,075 people and generates $22.7 billion in gross domestic product. That’s a similar economic impact to auto manufacturing and construction, each of which generate $22 billion in GDP for the state, the report says.
“I think that context is so powerful in a state that is so good at auto manufacturing and so good at agriculture and agbioscience,” said AgriNovus CEO Mitch Frazier. “To have two cornerstones for this economy to continue to grow is absolutely incredible—and that’s new data that I’ve not seen prior to this report.”
The report also identifies three growth opportunities for the agbioscience sector between now and 2050, while also acknowledging risks and challenges that include competitive business pressures, climate change and the lack of broadband and electrification infrastructure in rural areas.
One of those opportunity areas is what the report calls farmer-focused innovation: creating a network in which farmers could form partnerships with agbioscience companies, especially startup and emerging companies, to spur innovation. These partnerships could be set up with financial incentives for the participating farmers, such as ownership stakes in the companies, the report suggests.
Having a way to connect farmers with innovators, Frazier said, could accelerate the development of agricultural innovations that solve real-world problems—and it could attract investors who see the potential in those innovations.
“We believe that’s a differentiator,” Frazier said.
AgriNovus has seen success with one such program, the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge, Frazier said. That program, which launched in 2020, involves teams coming up with innovations to solve a particular agricultural problem. To date, all four of the challenge winners have gone on to either receive investor funding or be acquired.
Another area of opportunity, which the report calls “Food is Health,” focuses on accelerating innovation in plant, animal, human and environmental health; enabling farmers to diversify into new types of crops; and boosting the state’s value-added food manufacturing industry, with a potential focus on health areas such as personalized nutrition or nutrient-dense foods.
The final area of opportunity, Bioinnovation, involves growing the state’s biotechnology research, commercialization and production activities.
AgriNovus debuted the report at a gathering in Indianapolis this week. The organization is also planning to discuss the report in a series of presentations around the state in the coming weeks. The first two presentations are scheduled for July 23 in Vincennes and Aug. 8 in West Lafayette, with additional dates and locations to be announced.
Find the the entire Accelerate 2050 report here.
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