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 could irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and efficiently using a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br>
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<br>"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, bending down to check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in [Kenya's southeast](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) Kitui county.<br>
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<br>"But it works," he stated, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a big . "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, specifically throughout dry spell periods."<br>
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<br>Mathoka stated his profits 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 litre more [affordable](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) than routine diesel.<br>
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<br>The biodiesel he is using is not simply great news for him - it is also [excellent news](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) for the planet.<br>
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<br>Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making process.<br>
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<br>That indicates that along with being cleaner and less expensive than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is required to [produce](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) crops has [driven forest](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - [intensifying food](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) [shortages](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>"Our [biodiesel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based [business producing](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) 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 utilize it for our trucks, sell 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 invested in biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort released by Zaynagro in 2015, stated 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 increasingly irregular weather is ending up being [commonplace](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.<br>
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<br>The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe cravings.<br>
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<br>The number of Kenyans in need of [food aid](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) in March surged by nearly 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, mainly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
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<br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a severe lack of rain, humanitarian firms are [cautioning](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) 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 relieve dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food rates are prepared for, which will reduce bad families' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are currently evident.<br>
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<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged drought.<br>
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<br>Villagers experience travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans in search of water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, many of whom are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, go over strategies to sell 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 fretted.<br>
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<br>A little but growing number are shedding their problem of dependence on the weather condition - and investing in irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched more than three years earlier.<br>
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<br>Neighbouring farmers unite to purchase the irrigation system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) - at expenses beginning with 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 month-to-month instalments till the overall is settled. They buy the [biodiesel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
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<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump permitted him to water a bigger 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 three months. With the biodiesel 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.<br>
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<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
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<br>Other farmers point to the plan as a significant benefit in assisting enhance 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," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
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<br>"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which indicates we can pay off the cost of the pump gradually 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 phases, with couple of [farmers](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) having actually repaid the complete expense of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) plans are [promising](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) since they create a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) for revenue, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simpleness of the model - user friendly, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a [pay-as-you-go plan](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) - might assist energize rural Africa, he said.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives in the world. The essential problem is checking concepts and methods in a collective fashion," stated Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area need to attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks must start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers require 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, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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