$69.6 billion! That’s how much Indiana’s agbioscience sector contributes to the state’s economy, according to a new study from RTI International—the details of which were announced this week during the AgriNovus Indiana QUADRANT event at VisionLoft Stutz in Indianapolis.
“The insights from the study show the power of Indiana’s ag bioscience economy,” says Mitch Frazier, President and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana.
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.
“But the story gets even better as we look at that $69.6 billion. There are 147,000 Hoosiers who work in the agbioscience economy—ultimately making it possible so people can eat,” he says.
“What that really means in the context of this broader economy, Indiana’s agbioscience economy contributes $22.7 billion to the state’s gross domestic product—that’s roughly the same contribution as Indiana’s auto manufacturing industry,” says Frazier.
The study also defined priority opportunities to position Indiana’s agbioscience economy for differentiated growth amid future uncertainty.
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.
During the QUADRANT event, Frazier also gave a goal for Indiana’s ag community to grow the agbioscience economy even further.
“The big ambition for Indiana’s agbioscience economy is to drive $8 billion of growth by 2030,” says Frazier. “That really is a function of looking back at how this economy has performed, and then realizing that this is going to take all of us. This isn’t an AgriNovus Indiana target—this is all of us working together across food, animal health, plant science, agtech, and production agriculture as we set our eyes on the horizon and drive growth. $8 billion is a target, and I am confident we can get there.”
Frazier laid out several different opportunities for Indiana’s ag leaders and lawmakers to help reach that goal.
The biggest opportunity for everyone to realize is that the reason why Indiana has an agbioscience economy and the reason why we can drive growth in plant science, crop protection, animal health, food and agtech is because of production agriculture,” says Frazier.
“Farmers are at the cornerstone of this economy. Working with them and through farmer-led innovation, through bioinnovations, and through food as health—this will be the next chapter. Together, farmers working alongside innovators, as well as big and small companies—we can drive this economy and we can hit that $8 billion target,” he says.
Click BELOW to hear the full conversation with Mitch Frazier, President and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana, as he discusses the impact of Indiana’s agbioscience sector on the state’s economy—as well as the goal to further grow Indiana’s agbioscience economy.
For more information, visit AgriNovusIndiana.com.
