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Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya

By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was told he might water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

“Who could think it’s possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn’t!” chuckled Mathoka, bending down to examine the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya’s southeast Kitui county.

“But it works,” he stated, walking over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. “Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get higher yields, specifically throughout dry spell periods.”

Mathoka said his revenues had doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per than routine diesel.

The biodiesel he is utilizing is not just great news for him – it is likewise excellent news for the world.

Unlike many biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha curcas, it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making process.

That means that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no additional land is required to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has actually driven forest communities off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel – exacerbating food lacks.

“Our biodiesel originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning – the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton,” said Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.

“We began producing and using it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run some of their buses – and also to regional farmers for watering.”

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.

The recurring droughts are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals – pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme cravings.

The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

With nearly half Kenya’s 47 counties stated to have a severe scarcity of rain, humanitarian agencies are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.

“Only light rainfall is anticipated through June … and this is not anticipated to ease drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia,” stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.

“Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased local food costs are anticipated, which will lower bad households’ access to food.”

In Kitui’s Kyuso area, the indications are already obvious.

Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended drought.

Villagers complain of trekking longer distances – in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans looking for water.

Small-scale farmers, many of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, discuss plans to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui’s farmers are stressed.

A small but growing number are shedding their burden of reliance on the weather condition – and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro’s cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than three years ago.

Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the irrigation system – which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel – at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.

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 a litre.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump allowed him to water a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of vegetables including maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.

“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 village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers point to the scheme as a significant advantage in assisting improve their output.

“The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers do not 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.

“Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which suggests we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in little amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school charges.”

Zaynagro’s initiative is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having repaid the complete cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are appealing since they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simplicity of the design – user friendly, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan – could assist electrify rural Africa, he said.

“There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options on the planet. The crucial problem is testing ideas and approaches in a collective fashion,” said Sanyal.

“Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks ought to begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation.”

($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, females’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and environment change. Visit http://news.trust.org)