Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight 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 believed it must be a joke when he was told he could water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, [cleanly](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) 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!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to examine the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
 <br>"But it works," he stated, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, particularly throughout drought periods."<br>
 <br>[Mathoka](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) stated his incomes had actually 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>
 <br>The [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) he is using is not just excellent news for him - it is also excellent news for the planet.<br>
 <br>Unlike many biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
 <br>That suggests that in addition to being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no additional land is needed to produce it.<br>
 <br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) crops has actually [driven forest](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) communities off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - intensifying food scarcities.<br>
 <br>"Our [biodiesel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) comes from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.<br>
 <br>"We began producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."<br>
 <br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far bought biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.<br>
 <br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
 <br>Climate change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and progressively erratic weather condition is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.<br>
 <br>The recurring dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe cravings.<br>
 <br>The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March surged by nearly 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to [government figures](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889).<br>
 <br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased cravings in the months ahead.<br>
 <br>"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to minimize dry spell in impacted locations 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 minimize bad families' access to food."<br>
 <br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are already obvious.<br>
 <br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the prolonged dry spell.<br>
 <br>Villagers experience trekking longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
 <br>Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on rain-fed farming, talk about plans to sell their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is bad.<br>
 <br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
 <br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
 <br>A small however growing number are shedding their concern of dependence on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by  [seed biodiesel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years earlier.<br>
 <br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the watering system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
 <br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the total is paid off. They buy the [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
 <br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) [pump allowed](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) him to water a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies including 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](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) pump, I can earn 45,000 shillings," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, [standing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
 <br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
 <br>Other farmers indicate the scheme as a significant advantage in assisting enhance their output.<br>
 <br>"The instalment plan is great. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue [biodiesel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) pump.<br>
 <br>"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which implies we can pay off the cost of the pump gradually in little quantities, and have money left over to pay the school costs."<br>
 <br>[Zaynagro's initiative](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having paid back the full expense of the pumps.<br>
 <br>But such [biofuel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) schemes are appealing since they create a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
 <br>The [simpleness](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, assured supply of [biodiesel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might help amaze rural Africa, he stated.<br>
 <br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options on the planet. The crucial problem is checking concepts and techniques in a collective style," stated Sanyal.<br>
 <br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area ought to attempt and learn from this experiment. Financial institutions ought to start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors 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](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>