Christina Granados, Author at CleanStart

The Future of Agriculture Is Biological

Apr 7, 2026

How Greater Sacramento Is Building the Ecosystem to Lead a $35 Billion Revolution

Synthetic fertilizers transformed global agriculture in the early 20th century, catalyzed by the Haber-Bosch process and the expansion of international fertilizer trade. Regions like California’s San Joaquin Valley became agricultural powerhouses. But that chemical revolution carried a steep cost: soil degradation, water contamination, pollinator decline, and growing pest resistance. Now, a new revolution is underway—and the Greater Sacramento region is at its epicenter.

Agricultural biologicals—products derived from living organisms and natural materials—are rapidly replacing synthetic chemicals as the future of crop protection and soil health. And the organizations, entrepreneurs, and investors driving this transformation are building their base right here in Northern California, with AgStart leading the charge to turn scientific breakthroughs into commercial realities.

A Market Poised for Explosive Growth

The numbers tell a compelling story for entrepreneurs and investors alike. The global agricultural biologicals market is valued at approximately $17–18 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $35–44 billion by 2030–32, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12–14% (Fortune Business Insights; MarketsandMarkets, 2025). In the United States alone, the agricultural biologicals market is estimated at $3.55 billion in 2025 and is expected to nearly double to $6.48 billion by 2030, reflecting a 12.8% CAGR (Mordor Intelligence, 2025).

The biopesticides segment specifically is projected to grow from $8.94 billion in 2025 to $17.68 billion by 2030 at a 14.6% CAGR (MarketsandMarkets, 2025). For context, the broader crop protection chemicals market grows at roughly 5% annually—meaning biologicals are expanding nearly three times faster than their synthetic counterparts.

What’s driving this surge? A convergence of forces: pests developing resistance to chemical agents, tightening regulations worldwide, consumer demand for residue-free food, and the integration of biologicals into precision agriculture and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies.

Global Momentum: From Brazil to the EU to California

Brazil currently leads the world in biological adoption. According to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), 55% of the country’s cultivated land uses some form of biological input, and adoption has grown at roughly 22% annually in recent years—four times the global average (AgriBrasilis, 2025). More than 60% of Brazilian farmers now use biologicals, and the potential area treated with bio-inputs reached 156 million hectares in the 2024–25 growing season (CropLife Brasil, 2025).

In Europe, the Farm to Fork Strategy—a centerpiece of the European Green Deal—set ambitious targets to reduce overall chemical pesticide use and risk by 50% by 2030 (European Commission, 2020). While the legislative path has encountered political headwinds, the directional signal is clear: the regulatory environment is tilting decisively toward biological alternatives. The European agricultural biologicals market is anticipated to reach approximately $5 billion in 2025 (Fortune Business Insights, 2025).

In the United States, adoption still lags at around 10% of farmers compared to Brazil’s 60%+ (AgFunder News, 2025). That gap represents an enormous opportunity. The EPA has been streamlining biopesticide registration processes, and the U.S. market’s projected near-doubling over five years signals that American agriculture is approaching an inflection point—one that entrepreneurs and investors in the Greater Sacramento region are uniquely positioned to capitalize on.

Greater Sacramento: An Innovation Cluster with Proven Results

The Greater Sacramento region has emerged as one of the nation’s most dynamic innovation clusters for agricultural biologicals, and its success is no accident. It is the product of world-class research institutions, a proven track record of commercial successes, and a deliberate ecosystem-building strategy.

The story begins with AgraQuest, an early pioneer in biopesticides headquartered in the region. AgraQuest’s success—culminating in its acquisition by Bayer CropScience for over $400 million—put Greater Sacramento on the global biologicals map and established Bayer’s global biologicals headquarters in West Sacramento.

What followed was a virtuous cycle of innovation. Alumni of AgraQuest went on to found Marrone Bio Innovations (subsequently acquired by Bioceres), BioConsortia, and Invasive Species Corporation. Additional innovators including Botanical Solution Inc. and Pheronym have further deepened the region’s bench strength. Together, these companies represent a concentration of biological expertise that rivals any cluster in the world.

The region’s advantages extend well beyond any single company. UC Davis—ranked the #1 agricultural sciences university in the United States—is just 15 miles from downtown Sacramento, providing a continuous pipeline of top-tier scientific talent. Major global players including Bayer Crop Science, BASF, Novonesis, and Syngenta all maintain research and development operations in the region. California’s Central Valley, the world’s largest patch of Class 1 soil, provides immediate access to millions of acres of farmland for field trials across diverse crop types.

AgStart: The Engine of Commercialization

At the center of this ecosystem sits AgStart, a regional non-profit incubator that has become a nationally recognized leader in helping biological startups navigate the critical journey from laboratory discovery to commercial product.

Founded in 2012 through a partnership between regional economic development leaders and UC Davis, AgStart has supported hundreds of AgriFood startups through its unique combination of shared infrastructure, expert mentorship, and deep ecosystem connections.

The Lab@AgStart, located in downtown Woodland, California, is the only integrated wet lab and food lab in Northern California. The nearly 13,000-square-foot facility features 52 lab benches, a fully equipped bio-fermentation lab where scientists can rapidly grow specific microbes and produce biological materials for trials, as well as coworking space and a certified commercial food lab. When it opened, the Lab@AgStart doubled the region’s wet lab capacity—and demand immediately outstripped supply, with half the benches reserved before the doors even opened.

For entrepreneurs, AgStart dramatically lowers the barriers to entry. Rather than raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for lab equipment and facility build-out before producing a single sample, startups can access shared, world-class infrastructure from day one. AgStart also offers programs that fund expert guidance at no cost to entrepreneurs, facilitate strategic partnerships, and connect companies into supportive regional and national networks including Agtech Nation and Harvest Agtech, which can enable free or low-cost field trials across different crop types.

AgStart’s partnership with Bayer’s LifeHub California further underscores its standing. Through the Golden Ticket competition, AgStart and Bayer provide startups from around the world with a year of fully-paid lab access, mentorship from Bayer’s global experts, and immersion in the Greater Sacramento innovation ecosystem—an offer that attracts applicants from pre-seed through Series A stages worldwide.

Why This Matters for Entrepreneurs and Investors

The convergence of market demand, regulatory tailwinds, and regional infrastructure creates a rare alignment of opportunity:

For entrepreneurs: The biologicals market is growing at double-digit rates with massive unmet demand. The U.S. is years behind Brazil in adoption, meaning the domestic market runway is long. AgStart provides the lab infrastructure, mentorship, partnerships, and ecosystem connections that can take a promising organism from bench-scale to field trial without requiring the capital expenditure that typically stalls early-stage biological companies. UC Davis’s talent pipeline and the region’s concentration of industry expertise mean you’re building your company in the best possible environment.

For investors: Agricultural biologicals represent a category with strong secular growth fundamentals—regulatory pressure on chemicals is tightening globally, pest resistance is increasing, and consumer preferences are shifting toward sustainability. The Greater Sacramento cluster offers a deal flow of science-backed startups with access to field-trial infrastructure and proximity to one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions. VC investment in agricultural biological startups in Latin America alone grew more than 2,000% between 2020 and 2024 (AgFunder News, 2025), signaling the depth of investor conviction in this space.

Join the Biological Revolution

Agriculture is at the threshold of its next great transformation. The shift from synthetic chemicals to biological solutions is not a question of if, but how fast. The Greater Sacramento region—with its unmatched combination of research talent, commercial track record, agricultural proximity, and innovation infrastructure—is where this future is being built.

AgStart invites startups working in agriculture, food, and biotechnology to connect and explore the programs, facilities, and support services available for their growth and commercialization goals. Whether you’re a scientist with a promising microbe, an entrepreneur ready to scale, or an investor looking for the next breakthrough in sustainable agriculture, Greater Sacramento is where you need to be.

Sources & Market Data

Fortune Business Insights. “Agricultural Biologicals Market Size, Share, Growth Report [2032].” Global market projected at $17.16B (2025) to $43.58B (2032), 14.24% CAGR.
MarketsandMarkets. “Agricultural Biologicals Market Size, Share, Growth and Forecast.” Market projected at $18.44B (2025) to $34.99B (2030), 13.7% CAGR.
MarketsandMarkets. “Rising Demand for Sustainable Crop Protection Driving Biopesticides Market Growth.” Biopesticides market at $8.94B (2025) to $17.68B (2030), 14.6% CAGR.
Mordor Intelligence. “United States Agricultural Biologicals Market Forecasts to 2030.” U.S. market at $3.55B (2025) to $6.48B (2030), 12.8% CAGR.
EMBRAPA / AgriBrasilis. 55% of Brazil’s cultivated land uses biological inputs; average adoption growth of 22% annually.
CropLife Brasil (2025). Potential area treated with bio-inputs reached 156 million hectares in 2024–25 season.
AgFunder News (2025). U.S. biologicals adoption at ~10% vs. Brazil’s 60%+. VC investment in LatAm biologicals grew 2,000%+ from 2020–2024.
European Commission. Farm to Fork Strategy (2020): targets 50% reduction in chemical pesticide use/risk by 2030.
AgStart (agstart.org), Greater Sacramento Economic Council, U.S. Economic Development Administration, Valley Vision.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sudhee Lakshama serves as AgStart’s Lab Director, working directly with our client companies to support their work, overseeing our lab facilities, and managing our community-building and client-support programs including our monthly ‘Learn From A Local’ networking events and our AgriFoodTech Entrepreneur Resource (AFTER) mentoring support program.

Sudhee brings a background of work in academic labs and his own start-up. Sudhee’s background includes a stint at UC Davis as a postdoc in 2009, working on nano-photonics. In that period, he discovered his entrepreneurial DNA and co-founded Sonanutech Inc with Prof. Ian Kennedy, raising over $1.3 million in grant and $100,000 in industrial support for the rapid bacteriophage test. Since 2019, he has been working as an instructor and program director at Carrington College. Sudhee brings to these roles a passion for science, technology and instrumentation, along with the experience of building and managing a biotech lab. He has served as a principle investigator and as a reviewer for National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation grants. He is the recipient of the prestigious Alexander-von-Humboldt fellowship. Sudhee holds a PhD in Materials Chemistry from India.

Clean Skies Are Coming to California — But Will You Have a Seat at the Table?

Apr 6, 2026

From billion-dollar incentive programs to autonomous electric aircraft already in the field, the state is accelerating the zero-emissions transition. Here’s how entrepreneurs and businesses are collaborating with CARB – and how you can get involved.

California’s clean energy transition isn’t just a policy agenda – it’s an active, funded, and fast-moving collaboration between state agencies, entrepreneurs, fleet operators, and communities. At a recent Clean Start Perspectives webinar, Matt Williams of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) pulled back the curtain on how the state is investing in zero-emissions heavy-duty transportation and aviation, and what it means for innovators ready to build the future.

The takeaway was clear: the state doesn’t build these technologies – it needs businesses and entrepreneurs to step up, partner in, and help shape what comes next.

Billions on the Line: How California Funds the Transition

CARB’s Clean Transportation Incentives portfolio has already invested billions of dollars in pre-commercial and early commercial clean technologies. The flagship Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project alone has deployed over a billion dollars since 2009, making it easier for fleet operators to purchase zero-emission trucks through straightforward dealer-managed vouchers.

Then there’s the SHIFT program – the Sustainable Heavy-Duty Initiatives for Future Technology – which has allocated over $600 million across more than 40 projects and deployed over 700 vehicles and pieces of equipment. SHIFT has funded world firsts: a battery-electric locomotive, a hydrogen ferry in the San Francisco Bay, battery-electric port tugs, and carbon capture systems. These aren’t concept sketches – they’re technologies operating in the field today.

“All of the technology that is now finally ready for applications in aviation were developed and cut their teeth in light-duty and then heavy-duty vehicles.”

-Matt Williams, CARB

Importantly, SHIFT’s impact extends well beyond the initial grant. The battery-electric locomotive, for instance, was a world first when CARB funded it. The manufacturer has since produced a second generation and sold units globally – proof that California’s public investment can catalyze entire markets.

Electric Aircraft Are Already in the Air

One of the most exciting developments is CARB’s first-ever aviation demonstration project: a partnership with PICA, whose Pelican Spray drone – a fully autonomous, electric fixed-wing aircraft with a 40-foot wingspan – is now operating on farms near Stockton, California. Five aircraft will be deployed in total, spraying crops with less chemical and less drift than traditional piloted air tractors. Because they’re autonomous and battery-powered with hot-swappable batteries, they can fly at night when winds are calmer, and operate nearly around the clock.

These aircraft are already commercially available and FAA-certified. The demonstration project is collecting public data on durability, performance, and feasibility – data that will help other companies and operators adopt the technology. PICA is also developing larger platforms aimed at rural cargo delivery and emergency response, opening the door to a future where autonomous electric aircraft bring medical supplies to remote communities faster than any ground vehicle could.

Meanwhile, companies like Joby Aviation are in the final stages of FAA type certification for battery-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, with a hydrogen-powered variant also in flight testing. The zero-emissions aviation industry, as Williams put it, has seemingly appeared all at once – the result of decades of investment in battery, powertrain, and efficiency technologies that are finally mature enough to leave the ground.

Why Businesses Need to Engage Now

Here’s the reality: CARB’s funding comes from the state legislature, and it’s not guaranteed year to year. The SHIFT program, for instance, currently has no new appropriation. That means the single most important thing entrepreneurs and business leaders can do is advocate for continued investment – by talking to their legislators, engaging with CARB’s public process, and making the case for why these programs matter.

Matt Williams’ Advice for Clean Tech Startups

Find your tribe. Build relationships with companies aligned with your mission – partners, potential customers, and collaborators who make your team stronger.
Start building your project team early. The best SHIFT proposals were developed long before any solicitation was released. You need an eligible grantee – a California nonprofit, air district, or government entity – so start those conversations now.
Don’t go it alone. Small companies don’t have the bandwidth to track every shifting regulation and incentive program. Partnering with larger organizations helps you stay informed and ready when opportunities arise.
Prepare to scale regardless. Build your company as if the funding is coming. When it does, you’ll already have the plan in place.

Williams was candid about the challenge of navigating state bureaucracy as a small company. Even with a decade of state experience, he acknowledged that compliance and program participation are genuinely difficult. The solution? Community. Collaboration. Shared knowledge. That’s exactly the kind of ecosystem Clean Start exists to support.

The Regulatory Frontier: Clean Aviation Takes Shape

Beyond incentives, CARB is exploring regulatory pathways through the Statewide Clean Aviation Initiative. This effort is looking at reducing emissions from ground support equipment, auxiliary power units, and aircraft ground operations at California airports. The initiative is still early – workshops and board consideration are expected in 2027 – which means now is the time to get involved and shape the rules before they’re written.

On sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), CARB is partnering with industry to increase production and use. But Williams was straightforward: SAF reduces greenhouse gas emissions, not the thermal NOx and particulate matter that harm communities near airports. It’s a bridge, not a destination. The long-term goal remains truly zero-emission flight.

Get Involved – Here’s How

California’s clean energy transition works because people participate. Businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals engaging with agencies, air districts, and legislators is what drives better policy and smarter investment. Here’s where to start:

Connect with Clean Start

Join the community of clean tech entrepreneurs and innovators at CleanStart.org. Attend our meetups on the grid, mobility, and generation – and find us on LinkedIn. We connect founders with the knowledge, relationships, and community they need to get things done.

Engage with CARB

Sign up for CARB’s Clean Transportation Incentives mailing list to get notified about workshops, work groups, and the annual funding plan. Search for the Statewide Clean Aviation Initiative to join the regulatory conversation early.

Talk to Your Legislators

CARB’s budget comes from the legislature. If you believe in the clean energy transition, tell your representatives. Advocate for continued funding of programs like SHIFT that turn ideas into working technology.

Reach Out to Your Air District

Local air districts are key partners in demonstration projects and can connect you with funding opportunities. Whether you’re working on SAF, electric aviation, or ground equipment – your air district wants to hear from you.

As Thomas Hall, Clean Start’s Executive Director, put it at the close of the webinar: the state doesn’t manufacture zero-emission aircraft or trucks – it needs entrepreneurs and businesses to bring those solutions forward. And the thing that makes California work is everyone participating: businesses and individuals engaging with agencies like CARB, local air districts, and the legislature.

The momentum is real. The funding mechanisms exist. The technologies are flying. The question is whether you’ll be at the table when the next chapter of California’s clean energy story gets written.

Find us at CleanStart.org and on LinkedIn. Don’t miss our upcoming events – including meetups on the grid, mobility, and generation, plus Climate Week in San Francisco.