Eni has finished its oilseed collection and pressing plant (agri-hub) in Makueni, Kenya, which has started to produce the first vegetable oil for bio-refineries.

With a capacity of 15,000 tons, the first agri-hub will produce 2,500 tons by 2022.

Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, said our vertical integration model promotes local farmers’ access to markets and ensures their access to land.

In the agri-hub, castor, cottonseed, and croton seeds will be processed for the extraction of vegetable oil. Castor crops, which are resistant to aridity and suitable for growing on degraded soils, are sustainable agri-feedstock raw materials that do not compete with the food supply chain.

In addition to being the first company to certify castor and croton for biofuel use under the ISCC-EU scheme, Eni enabled an African cotton mill to achieve such certification for the first time, offering new market opportunities to local farmers.

Eni’s agro-industrial chain initiative began with the startup of production in Kenya. In the past year, agreements have been signed in several countries, including Congo, Mozambique, Angola, Ivory Coast, Benin, Kazakhstan, and Rwanda.