Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya
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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
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<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was told he might water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and [efficiently utilizing](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) a pump fuelled by cotton waste.<br>
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<br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel 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 village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
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<br>"But it works," he said, strolling over to a neighboring tree and [plucking](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) a large [green pawpaw](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US). "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, specifically throughout drought periods."<br>
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<br>Mathoka said his revenues had doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.<br>
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<br>The biodiesel he is utilizing is not simply good news for him - it is likewise excellent news for the world.<br>
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<br>Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
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<br>That suggests that in addition to being cleaner and less expensive than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no [additional land](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) is needed to produce it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) crops has actually driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - exacerbating [food shortages](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy).<br>
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<br>"Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.<br>
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<br>"We started producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now utilize it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for irrigation."<br>
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now bought biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.<br>
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<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
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<br>Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and significantly erratic weather is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
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<br>The recurring dry spells are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe cravings.<br>
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<br>The number of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March surged by almost 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, mostly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
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<br>With practically half Kenya's 47 [counties stated](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian firms are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to reduce dry spell in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased regional food prices are anticipated, which will decrease poor households' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are currently obvious.<br>
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<br>Rivers, [water pans](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) and dams are drying up as a result of the extended drought.<br>
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<br>Villagers complain of travelling longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
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<br>[Small-scale](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, discuss strategies to offer their goats to make ends satisfy if the [harvest](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) is bad.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb)<br>
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
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<br>A small but growing number are shedding their burden of reliance on the weather condition - and systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than 3 years back.<br>
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<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the watering system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of [biodiesel](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4) - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
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<br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments till the overall is paid off. They purchase the [biodiesel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
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<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) pump permitted him to water a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and [sweet potatoes](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited).<br>
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<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," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
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<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
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<br>Other farmers indicate the plan as a major benefit in helping improve their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment scheme is excellent. Most farmers do not have the money and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) pump.<br>
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<br>"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which suggests we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."<br>
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<br>[Zaynagro's initiative](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having actually repaid the full cost of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) schemes are promising because they create a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simplicity of the model - user friendly, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might help energize rural Africa, he stated.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives on the planet. The essential issue is testing ideas and approaches in a collective style," said Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region ought to attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial organizations should start exploring with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors require to support experimentation."<br>
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<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, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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