Patent Landscape Report on Agrifood: The United States leads in Global AgriFood Innovation

The United States (US) leads in international patent filings in the “agrifood” sector, while growth in India, China and the Republic of Korea signals a shift in the sector amid an urgent need to bolster global food security, according to a new WIPO report.

The WIPO Patent Landscape Report on Agrifood shows that more than 3.5 million inventions in the Agrifood sector have been patented over the past 20 years, and investments in Agrifood technology have increased from $3 billion in 2012 to almost $30 billion in 2022.

Agrifood encompasses a wide range of activities related to both agriculture and food production, from farming to distribution, consumption and waste management. The sector play an important role in ensuring global food security, driving economic growth and promoting sustainability. By leveraging innovation and technology, agrifood systems increase productivity, reduce waste and ensure access to safe, nutritious food for a growing population.

While the US still files the most Agrifood international patents, Japan and China now take second and third place. India, meanwhile, has seen the fastest annual growth in patent applications, followed closely by China and the Republic of Korea.

This comes as more innovators join the field to explore how to tackle the challenges facing global food security, as well as how to make the production of food more efficient, scalable, sustainable, and resilient.

The world’s population is expected to grow by 20% in the next 25 years and food demand is estimated to increase by 56% in 2050 compared to 2013. Increasing urbanization is already affecting the availability of natural resources and agricultural land, while climate change is having devastating effects on crop yield and livestock production.

The Agrifood sector is vast and innovations are divided into two main categories: AgriTech, representing 60% of the total patent count, and FoodTech, making up the remaining 40%.

AgriTech patents have seen a surge in growth due to increasing interest in agricultural automation and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. According to the report, the top AgriTech patent applicants are industrial manufacturers of agricultural machines from the US, Japan and Europe, and agrochemical companies from Germany, China and Japan. Technology companies from Asia are prominent in IoT-related sub-domains.

Growth in FoodTech has been comparatively stagnant. Innovations have been focused on supply chain, followed by food chemistry, food technology, consumer technology and food services.

Despite the surge in Agrifood patents, only 12% of patents (450,000) are filed outside of their intellectual property office of first filing. Notably, patent applications from Asia, specifically those from China, are more likely to only seek patent protection within their home countries.