Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya

Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Eliminate-Drought-In-Kenya.md

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+<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
+<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was told he could irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing 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](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) 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 said, walking over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this [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) water pump has actually helped me get greater yields, especially during drought durations."<br>
+<br>Mathoka said his revenues had doubled 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](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) he is using is not just good news for him - it is likewise good news for the world.<br>
+<br>Unlike most biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/), it is made from a byproduct of the [cotton-making process](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86).<br>
+<br>That means that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more [sustainable](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) than other biofuels since no [extra land](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) is required 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 driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - intensifying food scarcities.<br>
+<br>"Our biodiesel originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, [handling](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.<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 regional farmers for irrigation."<br>
+<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far purchased biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.<br>
+<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
+<br>Climate change is taking a toll throughout [east Africa](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) and increasingly unpredictable 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  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 need of food aid in March rose by practically 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, mainly due to bad rains, according to government figures.<br>
+<br>With practically half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a major [shortage](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) of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased cravings in the months ahead.<br>
+<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to ease drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.<br>
+<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased local food prices are anticipated, which will decrease poor households' access to food."<br>
+<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are currently [obvious](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86).<br>
+<br>Rivers, [water pans](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged dry spell.<br>
+<br>Villagers suffer trekking longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans in search of water.<br>
+<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, discuss plans to sell their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is bad.<br>
+<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm)<br>
+<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.<br>
+<br>A small but growing number are shedding their problem of dependence on the weather condition - and buying irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than 3 years earlier.<br>
+<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.<br>
+<br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the overall is settled. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 [shillings](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) a litre.<br>
+<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump permitted him to water a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety 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 pump, I can earn 45,000 shillings," stated 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 point to the scheme as a major advantage in helping improve their output.<br>
+<br>"The instalment scheme is great. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not quickly get a loan to buy a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
+<br>"Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are great which means we can pay off the expense of the pump slowly in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school charges."<br>
+<br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early stages, with few farmers having paid back the complete expense of the pumps.<br>
+<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) schemes are promising because they create a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean [Energy Finance](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) at the World Resources Institute.<br>
+<br>The simpleness of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, assured supply of [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) [combined](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) with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might help electrify rural Africa, he said.<br>
+<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The key issue is checking concepts and approaches in a collective fashion," said Sanyal.<br>
+<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must try and gain from this experiment. Financial organizations need to begin try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers require 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 [climate modification](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm). Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>