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Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya

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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it should be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and effectively utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br>
<br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, bending down to examine the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
<br>"But it works," he said, strolling over to a neighboring tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this [biodiesel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) water pump has actually assisted me get higher yields, particularly throughout drought durations."<br>
<br>Mathoka stated his profits had actually doubled in the two years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more [affordable](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) than [routine diesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/).<br>
<br>The [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) he is [utilizing](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) is not simply good news for him - it is likewise good news for the planet.<br>
<br>Unlike many biofuels, which are obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
<br>That means that along with being cleaner and less expensive than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is required to produce it.<br>
<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.<br>
<br>"Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," [stated Taher](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the [biodiesel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/).<br>
<br>"We started producing and using it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for irrigation."<br>
<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now purchased [biodiesel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) pumps for [watering](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
<br>Climate modification is taking a toll across [east Africa](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) and increasingly irregular weather condition is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.<br>
<br>The repeating droughts are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of severe hunger.<br>
<br>The number of Kenyans in need of food help in March surged by almost 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
<br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a serious lack of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to ease dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.<br>
<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased regional food rates are expected, which will lower bad homes' access to food."<br>
<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are currently obvious.<br>
<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended drought.<br>
<br>Villagers suffer [trekking](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans searching for water.<br>
<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, discuss plans to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.<br>
<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
<br>A little however growing number are shedding their concern of reliance on the weather condition - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) through a [pay-as-you-go plan](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) launched more than three years back.<br>
<br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the watering system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, upon the size of the pump.<br>
<br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments up until the overall is settled. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump permitted him to [irrigate](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.<br>
<br>"With a diesel pump, maize yields were lower and I would get 15,000 shillings in three months. With the biodiesel pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, [standing](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
<br>Other farmers point to the plan as a significant advantage in helping enhance their output.<br>
<br>"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
<br>"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which indicates we can pay off the expense of the pump slowly in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."<br>
<br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having paid back the complete cost of the pumps.<br>
<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) schemes are promising since they develop a [circular economy](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
<br>The simpleness of the [model -](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) easy-to-use, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could help amaze rural Africa, he stated.<br>
<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices in the world. The key concern is checking concepts and approaches in a collective style," stated Sanyal.<br>
<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region need to try and learn from this experiment. Financial organizations should begin try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."<br>
<br>($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and environment change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>