Today, castor oil is a premium sustainable industrial feedstock for bio-based products

Casterra Ag Ltd. , a developer of high-yield castor seed varieties and integrated castor farming solutions, and a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd, today announced successful commercial field trials in Brazil, highlighting castor oil as a compelling candidate for economically viable biofuel production. At present, castor oil is widely recognized as a high-value, sustainable feedstock for bio-based industries (lubricants, surface coatings, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and resins).

Casterra’s development efforts aim to reduce the farming cost of castor grains for oil production while maintaining farmer profitability. Success in these efforts will enable competitive castor oil pricing across applications, creating value for all stakeholders along the value chain.

The commercial field trials in Brazil confirm that large-scale, mechanized castor farming is economically viable using Casterra’s advanced seed varieties across diverse growing conditions. These proprietary seeds, designed for mechanization and low-input cultivation, support profitable farming and offer further potential through optimized practices.

The field trials were conducted across 74 hectares of commercial farmland in the State of Bahia. Of this area, 64 hectares were grown under rainfed conditions, and 10 hectares were grown using center pivot irrigation. Total rainfall during the growing cycle amounted to 382 mm. The trials evaluated a range of plant populations and nutrient application rates. Comprehensive data was collected on all field operations, including nutrient and crop protection applications, enabling a full assessment of direct farming costs.

Building on these promising results, Casterra’s 2026 operations in Brazil will concentrate on two key objectives: first, driving commercial penetration through the establishment of a local subsidiary and strategic partnerships with leading castor oil producers; and second, expanding castor farming trials across varied agricultural and climatic zones in several Brazilian states.

Yoash Zohar, CTO of Casterra, stated: “I am very satisfied with these results, which reaffirm Casterra’s concept for developing economic castor farming. These results are a milestone in positioning castor as a sustainable and scalable feedstock for the growing biofuel and bio-based industries.”