Global demand for food is rising to meet the needs of a growing population, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization predicting that feeding the 2050 global population of 9.1 billion people will require increasing food production by over 70%.
There is also growing consumer and producer interest in developing more sustainable agriculture systems through such actions as soil nutrient management, reducing the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and planting native crops to increase biodiversity. A wide range of businesses are involved in the agriculture sector, including farmers, livestock raisers, harvesters, distributers, processers, sellers, and suppliers of food-related equipment. The market value for sustainable agriculture products is predicted to rise to US$ 872.7 billion globally by 2020. This market growth is matched by an upward trend in sustainable agriculture investment, which has grown 32.5% annually since 2013.