Global Aquaponics & Hydroponics Systems & Equipment Market -Analysis & Forecast 2017–2022

In 2010, the United Nations Food and Agriculture (FAO) estimated that by 2050 as a consequence, of the increasing living standards and burgeoning population the world’s food requirement will get doubled from its current time. Increasing food prices from the year 2008 to 2010 have depicted that the food supply failed to meet the desired demand from the consumer's end. The rising concerns about food security because of rising population and urbanization have propelled the growers to grow fruits and vegetables with the assistance of hydroponics and aquaponic systems. Therefore, various countries across the globe are investing into the development of vertical hydroponic and aquaponic farms which are expected to be a cost-effective solution as compared to traditional farming.

Aquaponic and hydroponic systems enhance the productivity of the end produce with minimum inputs as compared to the traditional farming practices which are driving the market. The productivity from using the aquaponic systems is cost-effectively requiring only 10% of the land and 5% of the water for the vegetable production and fish farming. Aquaponics techniques help in decreasing the time for crop production. This helps growers to market the fresh produce during off seasons.

The report is a compilation of the different segments of the global aquaponic and hydroponic systems and equipment market, including a market breakdown by systems, equipment, and produce areas. While highlighting the key driving, and restraining forces for this market, the report also provides a detailed summary of the market. 

The report puts special emphasis on the market share of the leading companies in the aquaponics and hydroponics systems and equipment market, owing to the changing paradigms in the industry. The report further includes a thorough analysis of the impact of Porter’s Five major Forces to understand the overall attractiveness of the industry. The report also focuses on the key developments and investments made in the aquaponics and hydroponics systems and equipment market by the key players.

The commonly used strategy adopted by the key players to enhance their geographical presence is product launch & development, followed by partnerships & collaborations. Moreover, the company profiles section highlights significant information about the key companies involved, along with their financial positions, key strategies & developmental activities for the past few years. 

Further, the report includes an exhaustive analysis of the geographical split into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Rest of the World (RoW). Each geography details the individual push and pull forces in addition to the key players from that region. The prominent players operating in the global aquaponics and hydroponics systems and equipment market are Aquaponics LLC, Nelson and Pade Inc., Backyard Aquaponics, My Aquaponics, AMCO produce, American Hydroponics, General Hydroponics, GreenTech Agro LLC, and BetterGrow Hydro among others.

Health and wellness have become a matter of priority and concern for a majority of the population across the globe. Moreover, with the growing number of medical cases such as heart diseases, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, strokes, and rising healthcare costs, the consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the relation between diet and health.

As per the data by United Nations (UN), the world population which was 1.8 billion in year 1915, has reached over 7 billion in 2016, and is expected to reach over 9.5 billion by 2050. The Journal of Agricultural Economics stated that the food demand might increase by 59% to 98% between 2005 and 2050. Another study by National Academy of Science (U.S.) stated that the crop demand might rise by 100% to 110% between 2005 and 2050. With this alarming population growth and food demand, customer’s concern about ensuring food sufficiency and food safety is also increasing. This has further led to the growing eagerness in different forms of farming technologies in the world.

The global investments in technological advancements in the agricultural industry can significantly reduce some of the environmental issues and would also meet the 2050 food and crop demand. Several agronomists, farmers, and companies have come up with the concept of hydroponics, aquaculture, aquaponics and aeroponics technologies, which have been already serving as the ideal solutions for coping environmental issues.

These techniques have innumerable advantages over the conventional farming methods. Hydroponics, and aeroponics are modern agriculture systems that utilize nutrient-rich water rather than soil for plant growth. These do not require fertile land and require less space and 70% less water when compared with the conventional farming. These techniques support crop production all year round, when practiced in a controlled environment. This ultimately assists the farmers in having greater control over the production and the ability to increase yields with more flexibility during unfavorable climatic conditions. 

The plants can be cultivated with water (hydroponic technique) and the same water can be used for aquaponics (fish farming technique). Another technique is aeroponics, which includes the growing of plants by spraying the roots with a nutrient-rich water solution which is still a nascent technology.

Soil-less culture or hydroponics is the method of growing agricultural crops without the soil, either on a substrate (growing media) or in an aqueous medium with plain roots. The growing media provides nutrient support and moisture retention to the plants. Various irrigation systems are joined with these growing media to assist the nutrient solution to reach to the plants root zone directly. Apart from its high yield advantage as compared to traditional farming, soil-less farming is also gaining traction because of its high water and fertilizer use efficiency which makes both hydroponic and aquaponic a suitable farming technique across regions which are dry or wherever nutrient dispersion is a problem for both economic and environmental reasons.

To summarize, soil-less farming is increasing in the agricultural practice due to following reasons:

•    The rising demand for chemical and pesticide free food 
•    Emerging sustainable agriculture practices
•    Growing agricultural products where arable land is not available
•    Increasing fertilizers usage in the majority of the agricultural produce

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape for the aquaponics and hydroponics systems and equipment market demonstrates an inclination towards companies adopting strategies such as mergers & acquisition, partnerships, investment and joint ventures, product launch and development, and expansion & agreements and others. The result of the emerging strategies and developments are helping the market in the form of more mergers & acquisition and partnerships, investment and joint venture being done by the key players in the aquaponics and hydroponics equipment and system market. Moreover, the growing market of aquaponics and hydroponics systems and equipment is further expected to increase the involvement of companies across different segments of the value chain.

Aquaponics LLC, Nelson and Pade Inc., Backyard Aquaponics, My Aquaponics, AMCO produce, American Hydroponics, General Hydroponics, GreenTech Agro LLC, and BetterGrow Hydro, are some of the prominent players in the aquaponics and hydroponics systems and equipment market. The market has the presence of a large number of small-sized to medium-sized companies that compete with each other and the large enterprises.

The key players operating in this market have increased their merger & acquisition over the recent years, in order to generate public awareness about their existing and new products and technologies and to compete with the competitors’ product portfolio. This has been the most widely adopted strategy by the players in this market. For instance, in January 2018 Freights Farms, a manufacturer of smart hydroponic container farms and developer of the farmhand automation and remote-control suite, acquired Boston based Cabbige, an online business management application for small-scale farmers. Cabbige's inventory, crop, and financial management software will be merged with farmhand.

Partnerships, investments and joint ventures have also been significantly employed in the aquaponics and hydroponics equipment and system market. With the increasing growth in the global market, companies operating in this industry are coming up with collaborative strategies in order to sustain in the intensely competitive market. For instance, in February 2018 Springworks Farm announced that they had received $1.6 million to expand the company’s system in Lisbon, Maine. The companies use aquaponics to grow organic lettuce. Another company Canopy Growth Corporation and Canopy Rivers Corporation announced a joint venture agreement in December 2017 to form a new company, Les Serres Vert Cannabis Inc. This has helped both the companies to expand their production facilities.

The need for more R&D and appropriate regulatory environments is a prerequisite for the sustained growth of this market. Various government and private research institutes, and regulatory bodies and associations are putting in substantial efforts to identify how hydroponic and aquaponic systems and equipment can be important for meeting the demand for increased food production.