Casterra, a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd., completed commercial field trials of its high‑yield castor seed varieties in the State of Bahia, Brazil, covering 74 hectares—64 hectares under rainfed conditions and 10 hectares using center‑pivot irrigation. The trials, which received 382 mm of rainfall during the growing cycle, demonstrated that castor oil can be produced at economically viable volumes suitable for biofuel feedstock production.
The results validate Casterra’s integrated castor farming solution and confirm the commercial viability of its proprietary seed varieties. By proving that high‑yield, mechanically harvestable castor can be grown at scale in a major agricultural market, the company strengthens its revenue pipeline and supports Evogene’s broader strategy of monetizing non‑core assets while concentrating on its ChemPass AI platform for small‑molecule discovery.
"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," said Yoash Zohar, CTO of Casterra. "During 2025, we executed a clear and decisive strategic shift. After a comprehensive review of our technology assets, target markets, and capital allocation priorities, we sharpened our focus to drive sustainable long‑term value by concentrating on a single proprietary tech‑engine – ChemPass AI™ – for small‑molecule discovery and optimization," added Ofer Haviv, President & CEO of Evogene.
Brazil’s biofuel market is expanding, and castor oil is increasingly viewed as a high‑value, sustainable feedstock for lubricants, coatings, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and resins. The successful trials position Casterra to pursue partnerships with local castor oil producers and to scale production for both biofuel and specialty chemical applications.
Evogene reported a net loss of approximately $5.4 million for Q4 2025 and total revenue of $3.9 million for the full year 2025. The field‑trial success does not yet translate into immediate revenue, but it signals progress toward commercial deployment and may attract future investment or partnership opportunities, providing a modest positive impact on Evogene’s financial outlook.
The next steps for Casterra include establishing a local subsidiary in Brazil, expanding trial acreage, and engaging with potential commercial partners to bring the high‑yield varieties to market. The company’s success in Bahia underscores the scalability of its technology and reinforces Evogene’s strategy of leveraging its genomic expertise to create value‑creating, high‑growth businesses outside its core AI platform.
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