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 thought it needs to be a joke when he was informed he could water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, cleanly and efficiently using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.<br>
 <br>"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, bending down to [examine](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) 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 nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get greater yields, especially during drought durations."<br>
 <br>Mathoka said his incomes had [doubled](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre cheaper than regular diesel.<br>
 <br>The biodiesel he is using is not just good news for him - it is also excellent news for the planet.<br>
 <br>Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
 <br>That indicates that as well as being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no extra land is needed 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 actually driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - worsening food scarcities.<br>
 <br>"Our [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) comes from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, managing director of [Zaynagro](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the [biodiesel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy).<br>
 <br>"We started 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 some of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for watering."<br>
 <br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now purchased [biodiesel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) pumps for watering as part of an [initiative introduced](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) by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
 <br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
 <br>[Climate](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and increasingly erratic weather condition is ending up being commonplace in [nations](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
 <br>The repeating dry spells are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of extreme cravings.<br>
 <br>The number of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, mostly due to bad rains, according to government figures.<br>
 <br>With practically half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious lack of rain, humanitarian agencies are alerting of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
 <br>"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to minimize dry spell in impacted locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br>
 <br>"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased local food prices are anticipated, which will lower bad families' access to food."<br>
 <br>In  Kyuso area, the indications are currently obvious.<br>
 <br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended drought.<br>
 <br>Villagers complain of travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans searching for water.<br>
 <br>Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on [rain-fed](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) farming, talk about plans to sell their goats to make ends meet if the [harvest](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) is poor.<br>
 <br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
 <br>But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.<br>
 <br>A little but growing number are shedding their [concern](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) of reliance on the weather condition - and [purchasing watering](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme introduced more than three years ago.<br>
 <br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the watering system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
 <br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments till the total is paid off. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
 <br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump allowed him to water a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables 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 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
 <br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
 <br>Other [farmers](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) point to the scheme as a major advantage in helping [enhance](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) their output.<br>
 <br>"The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers don't have the money and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
 <br>"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which indicates we can settle the cost of the pump slowly in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school fees."<br>
 <br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early stages, with few [farmers](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) having actually paid back the complete cost of the pumps.<br>
 <br>But such [biofuel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) schemes are promising due to the fact that they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, [senior partner](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
 <br>The simplicity of the design - easy-to-use, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist electrify rural Africa, he said.<br>
 <br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The crucial issue is evaluating ideas and methods in a collective fashion," stated Sanyal.<br>
 <br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area should try and learn from this experiment. Financial institutions must start exploring with 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, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>