UK Traditional and Precision Breeding Industry
Explore the UK’s Traditional and Precision Breeding sector – mapping the companies using selective breeding and gene editing to shape the future of agriculture. Download our free snapshot report today –
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What is the Traditional and Precision Breeding?
The Traditional and Precision Breeding sector brings together companies developing new plant and animal varieties using both conventional and modern techniques. These businesses sit at the heart of food production, agriculture, and bioeconomy innovation – spanning everything from livestock genetics and husbandry to cutting-edge gene editing in crop development.
The sector includes companies using established practices such as selective breeding and performance data, as well as those applying biotechnology and gene editing to achieve genetic outcomes that could occur naturally, without introducing foreign DNA.
Built in partnership with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), this classification responds to a gap in traditional data. Existing sector definitions are too broad or outdated to reflect the diversity of this high-impact space. Our Real-Time Industrial Classification (or RTIC) offers a clearer, more accurate view of the companies shaping the future of breeding across the UK.
Traditional and Precision Breeding sector summary
Discover real-time data and insights sourced directly from The Data City platform, driven by our innovative Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTICs). Our RTICs harness the power of web data and machine learning, and are published with industry experts for precision and relevance.
Here are the key facts about the Traditional and Precision Breeding sector. The sector has a turnover of £3.8bn currently, has received £215.6m of investment and the sector is growing at 13.0% per year.
Traditional and Precision Breeding verticals
Our industry data goes deep. See the top verticals and specialisms making waves in the UK Traditional and Precision Breeding industry today.
Our Traditional and Precision Breeding RTIC is made up of 4 individual verticals. The top verticals in this sector include Traditional Animal Breeding, and Traditional Plant Breeding. You can find out more about the verticals by downloading our RTIC report, or by signing up for a free trial of The Data City platform.
- Sector Code Description Records
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RTIC0102 Traditional and Precision Breeding *New 323 companies
Companies engaged in Precision and Traditional Breeding of Plants and Animals. The RTIC reflects the company level data of firms that both engage in the use and /or development of modern biotechnology, gene editing or genetic modifications to breed plants and animals, as well as those that use and /or develop conventional and non-biotechnological breeding practices. This RTIC has been created in collaboration between The Data City and the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and is split into four separate verticals: Traditional Plant Breeding, Traditional Animal Breeding, Precision Plant Breeding, Precision Animal Breeding.
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Traditional and Precision Breeding: Precision Animal Breeding44 companies
This vertical includes organisations involved in the development of animals through modern biotechnology, such as gene editing, that has genetic changes that could have occurred through traditional breeding. This does not include where biotechnology has been used to introduced genetic changes that are considered to be transgenic, containing genetic changes that could not have occurred through traditional breeding. For example, the introduction of exogenous DNA or DNA from an unrelated species.
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Traditional and Precision Breeding: Precision Plant Breeding46 companies
This vertical includes organisations involved in the development of crops and plants through modern biotechnology, such as gene editing, that has genetic changes that could have occurred through traditional breeding. This does not include where biotechnology has been used to introduced genetic changes that are considered to be transgenic, containing genetic changes that could not have occurred through traditional breeding. For example, the introduction of exogenous DNA or DNA from an unrelated species.
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Traditional and Precision Breeding: Traditional Animal Breeding187 companies
This vertical includes organisations involved in the selective breeding of livestock using established, non-biotechnological methods. It covers the application of genetics, husbandry, and performance data to improve traits such as growth rate, fertility, disease resistance, and physical conformation in animals.
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Traditional and Precision Breeding: Traditional Plant Breeding64 companies
This vertical includes organisations involved in the improvement and development of crops and plants using conventional breeding techniques and without the use of genetic modification or advanced gene editing.
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Traditional and Precision Breeding industry growth
Based on a growth rate of 13.0%, we expect that this sector could be worth £4.4bn by 2027. Below you can see our forecast of the growth of the sector.
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