Molecular Breeding Market Rapid Growth at 16.8%

Overview

New York, NY – Nov 03, 2025 –  The global molecular breeding market is projected to reach USD 24.6 billion by 2034, up from USD 5.2 billion in 2024, expanding at a strong CAGR of 16.8% between 2025 and 2034. In 2024, North America dominated the global landscape with a 43.8% share, accounting for approximately USD 2.2 billion in revenue. Molecular breeding has emerged as a transformative technique in agricultural biotechnology, combining molecular biology with traditional breeding methods to enhance crop yield, pest and disease resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance.

This advanced approach leverages molecular markers, QTL mapping, and CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tools to expedite the development of superior crop varieties. In India, molecular breeding has already resulted in the release of 74 improved varieties across seven crops, including rice, wheat, maize, and chickpea, underscoring its growing role in improving agricultural productivity.

The sector’s rapid expansion in India is being propelled by strong government support and funding initiatives. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has allocated around 10% of its annual budget to targeted biotechnology programs in North East India, focusing on research, education, and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the DBT has integrated two major initiatives under the Biotechnology Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development program, backed by a budget of ₹ 9,197 crore for 2021–22 to 2025–26, as part of the 15th Finance Commission.

This strategic investment aims to strengthen India’s leadership in biotechnology innovation and industrial growth. Complementing these efforts, the government established the National Speed Breeding Crop Facility at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute in Mohali, emphasizing its commitment to accelerating crop improvement through modern molecular and speed-breeding technologies.

Key Takeaways

• Molecular Breeding Market size is expected to be worth around USD 24.6 Billion by 2034, from USD 5.2 Billion in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 16.8%.
• Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) held a dominant market position, capturing more than a 46.9% share of the molecular breeding market.
• Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) held a dominant market position, capturing more than a 38.3% share of the molecular breeding market.
• Yield Enhancement held a dominant market position, capturing more than a 37.6% share of the molecular breeding market.
• North America held a dominant position in the molecular breeding market, capturing 43.80% of the market share, valued at approximately USD 2.2 billion.

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Key Market Segments

By Marker Type Analysis: Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) – 46.9% Share in 2024
In 2024, Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) emerged as the leading marker type, holding a 46.9% share of the global molecular breeding market. SSR markers are extensively utilized due to their high polymorphism and reproducibility, making them suitable for gene mapping, variety identification, and marker-assisted selection (MAS). Their capability to detect genetic variation across diverse crops and animal species, particularly where genomic data are limited, has reinforced their dominance. In 2024, SSR markers were widely applied in rice, maize, and wheat breeding, providing accurate and cost-effective genetic profiling. Their ability to operate without species-specific sequence data and their adaptability to multiple plant species continue to make SSRs an indispensable component of molecular breeding programs worldwide.

By Breeding Process Analysis: Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) – 38.3% Share in 2024
Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) maintained a leading position in 2024, capturing 38.3% of the market share within the molecular breeding industry. MAS technology allows breeders to select genetic traits precisely, combining molecular markers with conventional breeding to improve efficiency and reduce the time required for developing superior varieties. This approach accelerates the breeding process for traits such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, and yield improvement. In 2024, MAS was heavily adopted in maize, wheat, and soybean breeding programs, where rapid genetic gain is essential to meet global food demand. The growing challenges of climate change, pest resistance, and sustainability have further enhanced the adoption of MAS by public institutions and private seed developers alike, solidifying its role as a critical innovation in modern agriculture.

By Trait Target Analysis: Yield Enhancement – 37.6% Share in 2024
In 2024, Yield Enhancement dominated the trait target segment with a 37.6% market share, reflecting the global emphasis on boosting crop productivity to meet rising food demands. Molecular breeding tools, including MAS and genomic selection, have enabled breeders to develop high-yielding, stress-tolerant, and resource-efficient crop varieties. The focus on yield improvement stems from the urgent need to ensure food security amid shrinking arable land and increasing climate variability. Key crops such as maize, rice, and wheat have benefited significantly from these techniques, leading to varieties that perform better under water stress and low-fertility conditions. This strategic focus on yield-enhancing traits is particularly vital in Asia and Africa, where small improvements in productivity can translate into substantial socioeconomic benefits for farming communities.

List of Segments

By Marker Type

• Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR)
• Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP)
• Expressed Sequence Tags (EST)
• Others

By Breeding Process

• Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS)
• Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) Mapping
• Marker-Assisted Back-Crossing
• Genomic Selection

By Trait Target

• Yield Enhancement
• Disease and Pest Resistance
• Abiotic Stress Tolerance
• Quality and Nutritional Traits

Regional Analysis

In 2024, North America led the global molecular breeding market, accounting for a commanding 43.8% share, valued at around USD 2.2 billion. This regional dominance is primarily supported by the continent’s advanced agricultural infrastructure, robust research and development (R&D) capabilities, and extensive biotechnology investments. The United States remains the key contributor, where both public and private sectors continue to drive innovation through genetic research.

Notably, initiatives by organizations such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have allocated substantial funding toward molecular breeding technologies aimed at enhancing crop yield, disease resistance, and environmental resilience, further strengthening the region’s leadership in the global market.

Top Use Cases

Climate resilience in rice: submergence tolerance at scale: Marker-assisted backcrossing (MAS) introgressed the Sub1 gene into popular rice varieties (e.g., Swarna-Sub1), helping crops survive 10–14 days of flooding and recover faster. By 2017, over six million farmers in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal had planted Sub1 rice—an early proof that molecular breeding can move from lab to widespread farmer adoption in flood-prone areas. Programs continue to refine grain quality and regional adaptation while maintaining stress tolerance.

Drought-tolerant maize: yield gains and broad adoption in Africa: Marker-assisted and genomic selection approaches have delivered drought-tolerant maize (DTM) now grown on 7.2 million hectares across 13 African countries, benefitting an estimated 44.5 million people (2022). Trials and on-farm data indicate ~+1 t/ha under moderate drought and +20–30% yield over current farmer varieties when stress strikes—material economic and food-security gains in rain-fed systems.

Nutrition (biofortification): zinc-rich staples through breeding: Conventional breeding aided by molecular markers is raising micronutrients in staples. HarvestPlus reports that by 2023 its biofortified crops had reached 330+ million people globally. In 2024–25, 187,000 tons of zinc wheat seed were planted (largely in South Asia), expected to produce >15 million tons of zinc-rich grain (≈US$5 billion value) and mobilize US$85 milli on in seed business—evidence that micronutrient breeding can scale commercially while tackling “hidden hunger.”

Faster product cycles: speed breeding multiplies generations per year: Speed breeding environments (extended photoperiod, optimized LEDs) integrated with molecular selection enable up to 6 generations per year in wheat, barley, chickpea, pea (and ~4 in canola), versus 2–3 under typical glasshouse conditions. This compresses variety-development timelines and accelerates MAS/genomic-selection cycles—vital when breeding for rapidly changing climates and markets.

Public funding & R&D ecosystems: sustained pipeline for new traits: Public programs are anchoring long-term molecular breeding capacity. In the U.S., USDA-NIFA invested US$16.2 million (2023) specifically for innovative plant-breeding research under AFRI, part of broader NIFA breeding/genomics initiatives; specialty crop networks (e.g., potatoes) also report multi-year NIFA support. Such funding de-risks pre-commercial trait discovery and strengthens public–private pipelines.

Local impact stories: targeted adoption and behavior change: Village-level engagement shows high uptake when improved varieties meet farmer priorities and extension is active. In Eastern India pilot sites, >75% of surveyed farmers in one flood-prone village shifted from the original Swarna to Swarna-Sub1, illustrating how participatory delivery plus superior stress performance drives replacement of legacy cultivars.

Recent Developments

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL): Although primarily a contract research organisation (CRO) specialising in pre-clinical animal models, Charles River provides extensive breeding and genetic services—such as custom rodent colony management, genetically engineered model breeding, and genotyping services—via its Genetically Engineered Models & Services (GEMS) unit. While it does not publish crop-molecular-breeding figures, the company reported over 20,100 employees in 2024 and broader revenues for 2024 — positioning it as a significant upstream-genetics service player with potential crossover into molecular breeding in plants.

Eurofins Scientific SE: Eurofins offers dedicated molecular-breeding and agrigenomics services for the crop and seed industry (e.g., marker discovery, high-throughput genotyping and trait selection for plants) through its “Molecular Breeding” and “Agrigenomics” platforms. In 2024, Eurofins achieved €6,951 million in revenues (+6.7 % YoY) across its global operations. This positions Eurofins as a major player in seed-industry molecular services and R&D support for breeding programmes.

DanBred P/S: DanBred P/S, a Danish pig-breeding company, has fully integrated genomic selection—since 2017 it uses 100 % genomic selection of breeding candidates, which they estimate boosts genetic progress by approximately 30 % per year compared to DNA-untested peers. Their “GenePro” programme offers on-farm gilt replacement and real-time breeding index updates, reinforcing their molecular-breeding credentials for productivity, robustness and sustainability.

Intertek Group Plc: Intertek offers high-throughput molecular-breeding support services across agribiotech and life sciences, embedded within its Assurance, Testing, Inspection and Certification (ATIC) platform. In 2023 the company reported £3,328.7 million in revenue, a 4.3% increase over 2022. While not all revenue is from molecular-breeding, the strong growth in its science-based services signals increasing demand for genetics-driven crop and animal trait solutions.

Slipstream Automation: Based in New Zealand, Slipstream Automation develops automated DNA‐extraction and marker‐screening platforms specifically for molecular breeding workflows. Their equipment supports more than 10,000 samples per week, enabling high-throughput genotyping in agriculture. In 2024, the company highlighted its adaptation of GBS-qualified DNA prep systems, positioning it as a critical automation partner in molecular-breeding pipelines targeting plants and livestock.

Illumina, Inc.: A U.S.-based leader in genomics, Illumina supports molecular breeding by offering DNA-sequencing and genotyping platforms used in crop and livestock improvement. In fiscal year 2023, Illumina reported revenue of US $4.50 billion, a 2% decline from 2022. The company shipped 352 NovaSeq X instruments during 2023 and continues to adapt its instrument/consumable business for the agribiotech sector.

LGC Limited: LGC emphasises its role in supporting agricultural genotyping and molecular-breeding workflows with genomics solutions aimed at crop and livestock improvement. During the period ending September 2023, LGC reported that its genomics segment faced headwinds and noted softer like-for-like growth, though it did not disclose a full-year 2023 or 2024 revenue specific to that segment.

SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA (SGS): SGS provides agrigenomics and molecular-breeding support services via its global testing, inspection and certification labs, enabling seed/variety genotyping and trait-verification programs. In its full-year 2023 results, SGS reported CHF 6,622 million in sales, with organic growth of 8.1% across business lines. While the agrigenomics portion is not split out, this performance underpins SGS’ growing role in molecular breeding support infrastructure.

LemnaTec GmbH, headquartered in Germany, specializes in high-throughput plant phenotyping systems that support molecular breeding by delivering automated imaging, AI-powered trait analysis and root-to-canopy screening solutions. In 2024 the company featured its “PhenoAIxpert Family” and “SeedAIxpert HT” systems in its newsletter, signalling investment in next-gen phenotyping workflows. As such, LemnaTec is cementing its role as a core service-provider in the molecular-breeding pipeline—enabling breeders to link genotype to phenotype faster and more reliably.

Conclusion

In conclusion, molecular breeding has firmly established itself as a critical driver of agricultural innovation—leveraging molecular markers, genomic selection and gene-editing to speed up the development of crop and livestock varieties with higher yields, greater stress resistance and improved nutritional profiles. As pressure mounts to feed a growing global population and cope with climate change, molecular breeding offers a scalable, data-driven pathway for more resilient and productive agriculture.

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