AgriNovus Indiana-commissioned study benchmarks state’s global competitiveness, defines three priority opportunities for the future

AgriNovus Indiana, an initiative to grow the agbioscience economy, released new research today that found Indiana’s agbioscience sector contributes $69.6 billion to the state’s economy and identified forces expected to shape its global competitiveness.

Conducted by RTI International, the study entitled Accelerate 2050: A Vision for Indiana Agbioscience, identified the state’s relative economic performance across food, animal health, plant science, agtech and production agriculture and defined priority opportunities to position Indiana’s agbioscience economy for differentiated growth amid future uncertainty.

“Agbioscience is a critical contributor to economic growth and is connected to every person on the planet given it centers on food,” said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana. “This new research not only defines the present economic strength in Indiana, it creates a framework to measure comparative growth and establishes focus to inspire the next chapter of innovation across food, animal health, plant science, agtech and agriculture.”

According to the study, Indiana’s priority opportunities include:

• Farmer-Focused Innovation –development of a multi-faceted entrepreneurial support system for Indiana farmers that recognizes their central role in agrifood innovation and implementation.
• Food is Health – innovation at the intersection of plant, animal, human and environmental health that recognizes food as the nexus to fuel both economic growth and improved health outcomes.
• BioInnovation – establish Indiana as a premier destination for bio-innovators and manufacturers to research, commercialize and scale biotechnology processes, platforms and products.

Informed by the expertise of the AgriNovus’ board of directors, the study couples the discipline of strategic foresight with economic and market analysis to characterize the current state of Indiana’s agbioscience economy and creates a vision with prioritized opportunities.

“The global agbioscience economy is on the precipice of significant change and while you cannot predict the future, you can create it,” said Amanda Rose, agri-food systems lead at RTI International. “This report reflects the energized commitment of AgriNovus’ diverse stakeholders to mobilize available resources and seize new opportunities aligned with their shared vision of the future.”

Additional data detailed in the report includes:

• Indiana’s agbioscience economy employs 147,075 people;
• Indiana’s agbioscience economy generates $22.7 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) – a total comparable in size to auto manufacturing or construction, which each generate $22 billion in gross domestic product; and
• Indiana maintains a position of global leadership in the following agbioscience platforms: agricultural production, plant science and crop protection and animal health and nutrition.

The full study, Accelerate 2050: A Vision for Indiana Agbioscience, is available at here.

Interested in learning more? Join AgriNovus at QUADRANT in Indianapolis on Wednesday, July 17 for a more in-depth discussion of this research, what differentiates Indiana and how we will need to adapt to stay competitive in the future. More details and registration for this free event are here.