Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat 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, easily and efficiently utilizing 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, crouching down to check 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, [walking](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get greater yields, particularly during dry spell durations."<br>
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<br>Mathoka said his earnings had doubled in the two years he has actually 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](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) he is using is not simply excellent news for him - it is likewise excellent news for the world.<br>
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<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 process.<br>
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<br>That suggests that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) 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>
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<br>"Our biodiesel originates from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.<br>
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<br>"We began producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now utilize it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."<br>
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far bought biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative released 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 irregular weather is becoming [commonplace](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) in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.<br>
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<br>The [recurring](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) [dry spells](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme cravings.<br>
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<br>The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March surged by almost 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
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<br>With almost half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a major shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of [increased hunger](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to reduce drought in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early [Warning Systems](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Network in its newest report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased regional food costs are prepared for, which will decrease poor families' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are currently evident.<br>
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<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended drought.<br>
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<br>Villagers grumble of travelling longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their [donkeys loaded](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, go over strategies to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price)<br>
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.<br>
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<br>A small but growing number are shedding their concern of dependence on the weather - and investing in watering 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 three years ago.<br>
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<br>Neighbouring farmers unite to buy the watering system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - 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](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the overall is settled. They purchase the [biodiesel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 [shillings](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) a litre.<br>
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<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the [biodiesel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) pump allowed him to irrigate a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of vegetables including maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.<br>
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<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](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).<br>
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<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
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<br>Other farmers point to the plan as a significant [benefit](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) in assisting improve their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment plan is great. Most farmers do not 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 pump.<br>
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<br>"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which implies we can settle the expense of the pump gradually in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."<br>
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<br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with few farmers having actually paid back the full cost of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) schemes are appealing because they create a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simpleness of the model - easy-to-use, robust innovation, guaranteed supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - might assist energize rural Africa, he stated.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The key concern is checking ideas and methods in a collective fashion," said Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and learn from this experiment. Financial organizations ought to start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors need 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](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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