Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate 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 believed it must be a joke when he was informed he might water his [drought-hit crops](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) more cheaply, easily and efficiently using 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](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Mathoka, bending 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 over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) water pump has helped me get higher yields, specifically during drought durations."<br>
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<br>Mathoka stated his profits had actually [doubled](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) in the two years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre cheaper than routine diesel.<br>
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<br>The biodiesel he is using is not simply great news for him - it is also great news for the world.<br>
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<br>Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
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<br>That implies that in addition to being cleaner and [cheaper](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no additional land is needed to [produce](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) crops has driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - worsening food scarcities.<br>
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<br>"Our biodiesel comes from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.<br>
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<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 also to regional farmers for irrigation."<br>
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort released by Zaynagro in 2015, [stated Zavery](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm).<br>
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<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
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<br>Climate change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and increasingly irregular [weather](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) condition is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.<br>
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<br>The [recurring dry](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) spells are ruining crops and [pastures](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) and are starving animals - pushing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of [severe hunger](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL).<br>
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<br>The number of Kenyans in need of food aid in March rose by almost 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, mostly due to poor rains, according to government figures.<br>
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<br>With almost half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a serious scarcity of rain, humanitarian firms are cautioning of increased cravings in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to alleviate dry spell in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food rates are prepared for, which will reduce bad homes' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are currently obvious.<br>
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<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the prolonged drought.<br>
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<br>Villagers suffer travelling longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans for water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, most of whom depend on rain-fed farming, go over strategies to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.<br>
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<br>A small but growing number are shedding their concern of dependence on the weather condition - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan released more than three years back.<br>
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<br>[Neighbouring farmers](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) unite to buy the watering system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of [biodiesel -](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
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<br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then [pay interest-free](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) regular monthly instalments up until the total is settled. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
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<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump permitted him to irrigate a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies consisting of maize, tomatoes, [spinach](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) 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](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 village, 40 km (25 miles) from [Kitui town](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86).<br>
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<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
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<br>Other farmers indicate the plan as a significant benefit in helping improve their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
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<br>"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which implies we can settle the cost of the pump slowly in little quantities, and have money left over to pay the school fees."<br>
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<br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with few farmers having actually repaid the full cost of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) schemes are promising since they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust technology, guaranteed supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might help electrify rural Africa, he said.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices worldwide. The essential issue is testing concepts and approaches in a collective fashion," stated Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region need to attempt and discover from this experiment. Financial organizations need 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 arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and environment change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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