Evogene Ltd., a company improving crop productivity and economics for the food, feed and biofuel industries, announced the signing of a collaboration agreement between its wholly owned subsidiary Evofuel Ltd. and Insolo Agroindustrial S.A., for the selection and optimization of Evofuel’s proprietary castor bean varieties in Insolo farms located in Piaui state in northeast Brazil.

The two-year collaboration between the two companies will examine the suitability and adaptability of growing Evofuel’s castor varieties as a second crop solution for Insolo farms located in one of the fastest developing agricultural regions in Brazil—the Cerrado. In the framework of the collaboration, the two companies will jointly evaluate the economic and agronomic benefits of growing Evofuel’s castor seed varieties in this area, selecting the best performing varieties, and developing the agronomic know-how to integrate castor into Insolo’s production system.

“We are very excited to add Insolo as a partner in Brazil,” said Assaf Oron, general manager of Evofuel. “The collaboration is a further step in Evofuel’s expansion plans in Brazil as we near our commercial targets for 2016. Insolo is a pioneer in the development of agriculture in Piaui and the Cerrado region, Brazil’s agricultural ‘new frontier,’ and we are proud to have their support as we look to address a key need in the region for second crop solutions.”

Evofuel focuses on the development of castor bean seeds for industrial use and production of oil feedstock suitable for the growing biofuel market. Utilizing the unique characteristics of castor’s high oil content and ability to withstand relatively harsh conditions, Evofuel is focused on growing castor as a second crop solution, particularly in semi-arid regions such as northeast Brazil.

Evofuel recently announced its ongoing collaboration with Case New Holland for the development of a customized combine solution for large-scale harvesting of castor, and collaboration with Embrapa for research of castor disease control practices.