Casterra and Fantini Team Up to Scale Commercial Castor Farming with Advanced Mechanization

Israeli seed specialist Casterra Ag Ltd. — a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. — has entered a strategic partnership with Italian agritech equipment leader Fantini Italia S.R.L. to drive large‑scale, mechanized cultivation of castor plants. The collaboration pairs Casterra’s high‑yield proprietary castor seed varieties with Fantini’s precision harvesting and threshing machinery, aiming to meet surging global demand for castor oil and its derivatives — currently a roughly USD 2.4 billion market projected to hit USD 3.09 billion by 2030. By aligning genetics and mechanization, the firms intend to deliver an integrated solution that addresses barriers in castor farming, including the scaling of production and reductions in labour intensity. Casterra’s CEO, Yoash Zohar, described the partnership as a “breakthrough” for positioning castor as a sustainable feedstock for biofuels and bio‑based industries. Meanwhile, Fantini emphasised its dedication to low‑carbon‑footprint machinery — their latest castor‑bean harvesters can cut carbon emissions by about two‑thirds compared to conventional equipment. This initiative reflects broader trends in agriculture where crop genetics, industrial‑scale mechanisation and sustainability goals are converging — enabling emerging crops like castor to move from niche cultivation to mainstream commercial deployment. #agricultureinnovation #castorfarming #mechanization #biofuels #SlimScan #GrowthStocks #CANSLIM