ENI, a global energy company with a focus on sustainability and renewable energy, has partnered with Kenyan smallholder farmers to cultivate castor oil as a renewable raw material for biofuel production. This initiative not only supports ENI’s decarbonization goals but also provides farmers with a new, high-value crop that can thrive in arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya. To enhance the effectiveness of this program, ENI collaborated with FarmIT to integrate digital agriculture solutions that support castor farming through better data, training, and decision-making tools.

As part of the pilot, FarmIT onboarded and verified 100 farmers into its system, capturing key data such as field locations and crop types. Virtual training sessions were conducted to ensure farmers could effectively use the FarmIT app, supported by shared tutorials and real-time assistance. The system was continuously monitored to ensure proper functionality, while data on crop health, soil, and weather conditions was collected and used to send timely alerts and recommendations. A virtual review meeting was held with ENI to share early success stories, gather feedback, and present a roadmap for scaling the platform to benefit over 50,000 ENI castor farmers across Kenya.