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Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya

Elijah Lunn 2025-01-14 06:45:56 +00:00
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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it should be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br>
<br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel much 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>
<br>"But it works," he stated, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get greater yields, especially throughout dry spell periods."<br>
<br>Mathoka stated his incomes had doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water utilizing [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile), which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than regular diesel.<br>
<br>The biodiesel he is utilizing is not just good news for him - it is also great news for the planet.<br>
<br>Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889), it is made from a byproduct of the [cotton-making process](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608).<br>
<br>That implies that along with being cleaner and less expensive than regular fuel, it is more [sustainable](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) than other biofuels since no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) crops has actually driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more [profitable crops-for-fuel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) - exacerbating food scarcities.<br>
<br>"Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053).<br>
<br>"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 a few of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for irrigation."<br>
<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have up until now invested in biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative released by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
<br>Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and significantly unpredictable weather condition is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.<br>
<br>The recurring droughts are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - [pressing countless](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme hunger.<br>
<br>The number of Kenyans in need of food aid in March rose by nearly 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 declared to have a major lack of rain, humanitarian firms are cautioning of increased cravings in the months ahead.<br>
<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to minimize drought in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br>
<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased local food costs are prepared for, which will minimize poor families' access to food."<br>
<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently apparent.<br>
<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged dry spell.<br>
<br>Villagers experience travelling longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans in search of water.<br>
<br>Small-scale farmers, most of whom are reliant on rain-fed agriculture, go over plans to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is bad.<br>
<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.<br>
<br>A small but growing number are shedding their problem of [reliance](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) on the weather - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than 3 years ago.<br>
<br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the [watering](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) system - that includes the [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
<br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the total 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, said the biodiesel pump enabled him to irrigate a bigger portion 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 three months. With the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump, I can earn 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 scheme as a significant advantage in helping improve their output.<br>
<br>"The instalment plan is good. 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 excellent which implies we can settle the expense of the pump gradually in small quantities, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."<br>
<br>[Zaynagro's effort](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) is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having repaid the full expense of the pumps.<br>
<br>But such [biofuel plans](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) are promising since they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
<br>The [simplicity](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, of biodiesel integrated with a [pay-as-you-go plan](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) - could help [electrify rural](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) Africa, he stated.<br>
<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options on the planet. The crucial issue is evaluating concepts and methods in a collaborative style," said Sanyal.<br>
<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must try and find out from this experiment. Financial institutions need to begin explore 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](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, [residential](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) or commercial property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>