Seed Coating Market Growth – Ensuring Global Food Security

The process of applying exogenous materials to the surface of the seed is known as a seed coating. This process enables the delivery and retention of active ingredients to protect from soil-borne threats and diseases as well as to promote germination. It also facilitates the modification of physical properties of seeds leading to standardization of seed volume and enabling enhanced seed handling.

Projection of Total Population at Mid-Year, World

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division

2020-2060: MEDIUM VARIANT

Increasing population, diminishing resources and stressed agricultural supply chains have led to, among others, growing demand for coated seeds due to technological breakthroughs in agriculture, increasing awareness among farmers about the advantages of coated seeds for commercial utilization of the same, as well as the benefits of seed treatment and the resultant germination enhancement, increase higher crop yield and protection from spoilage. The aforesaid was exemplified in March 2018 by a reported announcement of a demonstrated a gain of 14% in the average yield of cotton on the commercial fields in water-stressed Texas by Indigo Ag, Inc. a company that is globally renowned for harnessing the aspects of nature sustainably and empowering farmers to ensure global food security. Besides coating technologies are also being increasingly used in horticultural applications. Therefore, the aforesaid factors are anticipated to propel the seed coating market to stratospheric heights during the next few years. Nevertheless, there have been certain observations made like that of bee mortality due to Thiamethoxam, a neonic product that has been identified as toxic to bees when translocated as dust residues that are derived from exhausted planters’ dust. Further with corn being planted within 165 feet of woody pollen sources to which bees are attracted can become vulnerable due to exhausted planter dust.  This has raised concerns about bee health and sustainability of pollination-dependent crops and is poised to restrain the growth of the seed coating market.

Projection of Wheat Consumption, World

Source: OECD-FAO

In Mt

Albeit population along with disposable income are the core driver s for agricultural commodities. Individual consumption patterns of the population that are determined by the consumption presences and the availability of income to realize them. Further socio-cultural and income-driven changes in consumer preferences, continuing urbanization, and rising female participation in the workforce especially in high-income and emerging economies are expected to contribute to higher consumption of healthy processed food, preference of gluten-free wheat for example increasingly proclivity to eat outside of the home. From the perspective administration policies that are intended to promote healthy dietary choices and dissuade the consumption of food products that may lead to diet-related non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. Further consumer preferences will be increasingly governed by responsible product labeling strategies that will disseminate the nutrient information. Further, the increasing awareness of environmental stress that stems from consuming livestock product, especially in developed economies as well as the consumption of purchase of a product that is derived from non-organic crops (viz. cotton).

Moreover, the growing pool of vegan consumers is effectuating changes at an unprecedented level which is leading to product innovations that are 100& plant-based. Additionally, an increasingly aging population will also drive more heath centric food consumption. On the other hand, due to the economic development in newly industrialized countries and developing nations, the per capita food expenditure is expected to increase where un and a healthy portion will be intended for purchasing fish and livestock products. Therefore, to sustain the demand for livestock products the use of cereals, among others is inseverable leading to increasing demand for the same in the coming years. Thus, the aforementioned necessitates investments in R&D, bringing about seed coating product innovations and various other strategies among the players of in agriculture technology space to make certain that farmers are adequately empowered to ensure food security of our world. In view of the above, the agriculture industry is anticipated to witness a meteoric growth of the seed coating market during the next few years, which is evident from a select few developments in 2018, that have been elucidated below.

January 2018 – Product Launch

It was reported that Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) had announced a variety of R&D advancements that have been achieved across its research and development plans during the previous year over.  It also reportedly emphasized the importance of continuous innovations facilitating the use of seed coatings as evidenced by its Corn BioYield 2 project that was announced to be branded as Acceleron^® B-300 SAT after it received the correct regulatory approvals.  Meant for ex-factory corn seed treatment it is the world’s first microbial seed coating agent (SCA). This project reportedly uses soil coatings to increase the ability of a plant to take up nutrients and is a product of BioAg Alliance which is a collaboration between Monsanto and Novozyme. Later in August the same year, it received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

May 2018 – Product Launch

It was reported that the former AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals ( Euronext Amsterdam: AKZA ) as part of their widening of product offering announced the introduction of a new seed coating, Adsee™ ST4 that reportedly offered the best dust reduction, the best flowability that ensures unhindered logistics, being a non-ionic polymer and with adhesion derived form hydrogen bounding it will reportedly not have any adverse effect on active ingredients. It has Maltodextrin/VP copolymer with a high binding capacity for FS formulation to the seeds, among others.

April 2018 – Strategic Expansion

The Midwest Seed Coating, LLC an America independent contract independent, contract, high volume forage, and turf seed coating company had announced the commencement of its production at its new seed coating facility in New Albany, Indiana, USA. This strategic expansion of the company will enable it to easily serve Midwest, Atlantic, and Southern markets form the seed-growing regions of the western United States without t requirement of paying for the shipping of heavy coatings.

April 2018 – Strategic Partnership

A collaboration was announced between a global organization that is purpose-driven and based on science which actively engages in Health, Nutrition, and Sustainable Living, Royal DSM (Euronext: DSM) and Amulix which is a part of the Dynaplak group and develops solution based on starch that has industrial and agricultural applications enabling them to develop bio-based coating solutions for agricultural starter material under the brand name Amulix and company name DSM-Amulix that will be located in Zwolle, the Netherlands and through DSM will maintain a global presence. The other objectives of these new solutions are:

• Enabling the applicability of both biologically and chemically derived crop protection product
• A biodegradable alternative to the widespread use of polymer-based synthetic coatings
• A viable solution to microplastic pollution
• Reduction of carbon footprint