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Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya

Earle Redfern 2025-01-11 20:55:19 +08:00
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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was told he could irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, cleanly and effectively utilizing a pump sustained 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, crouching down to check 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, [strolling](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get higher yields, specifically during dry spell durations."<br>
<br>Mathoka said his profits had actually doubled in the two years he has been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than regular diesel.<br>
<br>The [biodiesel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) he is using is not simply great news for him - it is also great news for the world.<br>
<br>Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
<br>That suggests that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other [biofuels](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) 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.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more [rewarding crops-for-fuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) - intensifying food lacks.<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 Zavery, handling 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 a few of their buses - and also to local farmers for irrigation."<br>
<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have up until now purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
<br>Climate change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and increasingly unpredictable weather is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
<br>The repeating droughts are damaging crops and pastures and are [starving animals](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) - pressing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme hunger.<br>
<br>The number of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March surged by almost 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
<br>With practically half Kenya's 47 [counties declared](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) to have a major scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.<br>
<br>"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to relieve dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.<br>
<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased regional food costs are expected, which will reduce poor families' access to food."<br>
<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are already evident.<br>
<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended drought.<br>
<br>[Villagers](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) experience trekking longer [distances](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, talk about strategies to sell their goats to make ends fulfill if the [harvest](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) is poor.<br>
<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048)<br>
<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.<br>
<br>A little however growing number are shedding their concern of reliance on the weather condition - and buying watering systems powered by [Zaynagro's cotton](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) seed through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years ago.<br>
<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of [biodiesel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, [depending](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) on the size of the pump.<br>
<br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments till the overall is paid off. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) pump allowed him to water a bigger portion 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 make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 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 excellent. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," said 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 good which indicates we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school costs."<br>
<br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having actually repaid the full expense of the pumps.<br>
<br>But such [biofuel](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) schemes are promising because they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) for revenue, [stated Sanjoy](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World [Resources Institute](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html).<br>
<br>The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - might help amaze rural Africa, he stated.<br>
<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The essential problem is evaluating concepts and methods in a collective style," stated Sanyal.<br>
<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region should attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks need to begin explore 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](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>