Rehovot, Israel, and Mantova, Italy
November 11, 2025
Collaboration focuses on integrating high-yield castor varieties with advanced mechanized solutions, including harvesting and threshing technologies
Casterra Ag Ltd. (“Casterra”), an Israeli developer of high-yield castor seed varieties and integrated castor farming solutions — and a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN), and Fantini Italia S.R.L. (“Fantini”), a leading Italian developer and manufacturer of agricultural harvesting equipment, today announced a strategic collaboration for large-scale, commercial castor cultivation through advanced mechanization technologies.
The partnership is designed to meet the rising global demand for castor oil used for the production of biofuels and bio-based industrial products, by developing comprehensive and scalable farming solutions that integrate specially bred castor varieties with cutting-edge farm machinery.
The global castor oil and derivatives market is currently valued at approximately USD 2.4 billion and is expected to reach USD 3.09 billion by 2030, advancing at a 5.20% CAGR[1]. Castor oil and its derivatives are utilized across a wide range of industries, including lubricants, surface coatings, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, resins, and increasingly in biofuels.
In recent years, global efforts have intensified to modernize castor farming with mechanized, economically viable systems capable of supporting high-volume, industrial-scale production. The collaboration between Casterra and Fantini directly addresses one of the key challenges in this initiative: bridging the gap between plant genetics and farm mechanization. Casterra’s proprietary high-yield castor varieties are specially developed for industrial-scale cultivation and are well-suited to work with Fantini’s high-capacity, precision harvesting and threshing technologies. Together, the companies will develop and tailor integrated solutions to serve multiple geographical markets and farming conditions worldwide.
Mr. Yoash Zohar, CEO of Casterra, stated: “This collaboration with Fantini represents true synergy and significantly strengthens our global offering. Fantini brings decades of expertise in the development of agricultural machinery, and combined with our unique castor varieties, we’re enabling a breakthrough in castor cultivation. We believe this partnership will play a key role in positioning castor as a sustainable and scalable feedstock for the growing biofuel and bio-based products industries.”
Mr Nicola Bonacini, CEO of Fantini Italia S.R.L., added: having a serious partner like Casterra means a great deal for Fantini’s Team: it means being able to draw on years of experience, being able to count on their skilled consultants to implement our protocols and procedures, and above all, having the opportunity to improve our machines in collaboration with their best customers. Furthermore, like Casterra, Fantini is also committed to producing agricultural machinery with the lowest possible environmental impact, and according to our estimates, Fantini’s solutions currently allow for a reduction in carbon footprint of about two-thirds compared to the most widely actual used solutions.
About Casterra Ag Ltd.:
Casterra, a wholly owned subsidiary of Evogene, is empowering sustainable agriculture through elite castor seed varieties and development of advanced castor farming systems. Casterra leverages advanced genomic capabilities (licensed from Evogene) with its global breeding network to deliver high-yield castor seeds for the bio-based industries. Building on its elite castor seed varieties, Casterra combines agronomic expertise to develop advanced castor farming systems worldwide, tailored to diverse growing conditions, supporting farmers and industries in achieving sustainable production goals while advancing bio-based solutions.
For more information, please visit www.casterra.co.
About Evogene Ltd.:
Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq/TASE: EVGN) is a pioneering company in computational chemistry, specializing in the generative design of small molecules for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.
At the core of its technology is ChemPass AI, a proprietary generative AI engine that enables the design of novel, highly potent small molecules optimized across multiple critical parameters. This powerful platform significantly improves success rates while reducing development time and costs.
Built on this powerful technological foundation, and through strategic partnerships alongside internal product development, Evogene is focused on creating breakthrough products driven by the integration of scientific innovation with real-world industry needs. We call this approach “Real-World Innovation”.
Learn more at: www.evogene.com.
About Fantini Italia S.R.L.:
Fantini Italia srl is an American-owned company headquartered in Italy. Since 1968 Fantini Italia SRL has been manufacturing the highest quality of grain and other crops harvesting machineries. During these 60 years of activity, Fantini has pioneered the market with a completely new vision of harvesting introducing the first folding corn header, the first sunflower harvesting header in 1990, the first harvesting headers and processing appliances for castor beans in 2016, and in 2025 the brand new patented folding direct cut heads for forage harvesters designed for harvesting forage and biomass. Fantini has always been committed to producing equipment that can reduce environmental impact, carbon footprint and fossil fuel consumption: the new castor bean and forage machines are indeed designed to harvest plants for the production of biofuels and/or biomass for biogas production plants.
Lean more about Fantini Italia SRL on: www.fantiniworld.com.
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