The shipment, comprising over 100 tons, was delivered to
company's customer in Africa
REHOVOT, Israel, Oct. 29,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Casterra Ag Ltd.
("Casterra"), an integrated castor cultivation solution company for
oil production for bio-based products and biofuel, and a subsidiary
of Evogene Ltd. ("Evogene") (Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE:
EVGN), today announced a key milestone in its operational expansion
plan in Africa with the delivery
of its first shipment of over 100 tons of castor seeds to its
customer in Africa, seeds that
were cultivated at several sites in Kenya and processed in a seed production
facility near Naivasha, Kenya. The
production facility started operating in August 2024 as part of Casterra's expansive
operational infrastructure in Kenya.
This shipment of castor seeds, developed by Casterra and
produced in Kenya, is the first to
complete the entire cultivation and processing cycle in
Kenya. The company is now focused
on preparing upcoming shipments, which will be delivered to its
customers over the coming months. Currently, approximately 700
additional hectares are sown with Casterra's premium varieties in
Kenya, with harvest expected later
this year and into early 2025.
The castor seeds in this shipment were cultivated by experienced
local growers, and following harvest underwent an industrial-scale
processing phase, which included dehulling, cleaning, sorting and
packaging. Casterra's professional team oversaw and managed the
entire cultivation and seed processing cycle, ensuring adherence to
protocols and quality control standards.
Casterra's seed production operation in Kenya provides the company with a commercial
advantage as it allows supply in geographic proximity to its
customers in Africa, saving time
and money on shipping costs while also supporting the local economy
and agricultural practices.
Casterra's castor varieties were developed using
Evogene's GeneRator AI tech-engine and undergo
rigorous testing to meet industry standards. The company is
actively working to develop new castor seed varieties that will
demonstrate improved performance over existing ones.
Mr. Yoash Zohar, Casterra's CEO stated: "Over the past
year Casterra invested significant efforts in solidifying its
operational infrastructure in Africa, to ensure a stable supply of castor
seeds to our customers in this region. We are satisfied with the
collaborations with local growers in Kenya and with the dedication of our team
members who support Casterra's seed cultivation and production
activities in Kenya. We were
excited to witness the first shipment leaving the seed production
facility near Naivasha on its way to our customer in Africa. I am pleased to note that the company
has taken yet another important step toward becoming a leading
global supplier of castor seeds for oil production for bio-based
products and biofuel."
About Casterra Ag Ltd.:
Casterra is engaged in developing and commercializing
high-yielding castor bean seeds as a cost-competitive, sustainable,
second-generation feedstock for the growing biofuel market. It has
built its castor genetic assets based on a broad collection of over
300 castor lines from over 40 different geographic and climatic
regions. As part of its development process, Casterra applies
advanced breeding methods utilizing Evogene's GeneRator
AI tech-engine, enabling the use of cutting-edge plant
genomics tools and agro-technique expertise to enable efficient and
sustainable industrial-scale production of the castor bean.
For additional information, please visit Casterra's website at:
www.casterra.co
About Evogene Ltd.:
Evogene (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN) is a computational biology
company aiming to revolutionize the development of life-science
based products by utilizing cutting edge technologies to increase
the probability of success while reducing development time and
cost. Evogene established three unique tech-engines - MicroBoost
AI, ChemPass AI and GeneRator AI – leveraging Big Data and
Artificial Intelligence and incorporating deep multidisciplinary
understanding in life sciences. Each tech-engine is focused on the
discovery and development of products based on one of the following
core components: microbes (MicroBoost AI), small molecules
(ChemPass AI), and genetic elements (GeneRator AI).
Evogene uses its tech-engines to develop products through
subsidiaries and strategic partnerships. Evogene's subsidiaries
currently utilize the tech-engines to develop human
microbiome-based therapeutics by Biomica, ag-biologicals by
Lavie Bio, ag-chemicals by AgPlenus
and castor varieties, for biofuel and other industries, by
Casterra.
For more information, please visit: www.evogene.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
relating to future events. These statements may be identified by
words such as "may", "could", "expects", "hopes" "intends",
"anticipates", "plans", "believes", "scheduled", "estimates",
"demonstrates" or words of similar meaning. For example, Evogene
and its subsidiaries are using forward-looking statements in this
press release when it discusses Casterra's expansion plans in
Africa, Casterra's ability to
fulfill its current orders, development efforts of new castor seed
varieties, Casterra becoming a leading global supplier of castor
seeds for oil production for bio-based products and biofuel. Such
statements are based on current expectations, estimates,
projections and assumptions, describe opinions about future events,
involve certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to
predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore,
actual future results, performance or achievements of Evogene and
its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of
factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene and its
subsidiaries, including, without limitation, the current war
between Israel and Hamas and any
worsening of the situation in Israel such as further mobilizations or
escalation in the northern border of Israel and those risk factors
contained in Evogene's reports filed with the applicable securities
authority. In addition, Evogene and its subsidiaries rely, and
expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct certain
activities, such as their field-trials and pre-clinical studies,
and if these third parties do not successfully carry out their
contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements or meet
expected deadlines, Evogene and its subsidiaries may experience
significant delays in the conduct of their activities. Evogene and
its subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update
these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or
developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections and
assumptions.
Contact:
ir@evogene.com
Tel: +972-8-9311901
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SOURCE Casterra Ag Ltd.