Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight 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 should be a joke when he was informed he could water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and effectively using a [pump fuelled](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) by [cotton waste](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/).<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!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
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<br>"But it works," he said, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get greater yields, especially during dry spell durations."<br>
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<br>Mathoka said his revenues had doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more [efficient](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than regular diesel.<br>
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<br>The [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) he is using is not simply excellent 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 curcas](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.<br>
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<br>That suggests that along with being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no additional land is required to [produce](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) crops has actually driven forest [communities](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.<br>
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<br>"Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher 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, sell it to the United Nations to run some 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 initiative 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 throughout east Africa and significantly erratic weather condition is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, [leading](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) to lower rains.<br>
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<br>The recurring dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe appetite.<br>
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<br>The number of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to .<br>
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<br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 [counties](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) declared to have a severe lack of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to alleviate drought in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased regional food costs are anticipated, which will decrease bad families' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are already obvious.<br>
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<br>Rivers, [water pans](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged drought.<br>
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<br>[Villagers suffer](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) trekking longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty [jerry cans](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) in search of water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are reliant on rain-fed agriculture, discuss strategies to sell their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm)<br>
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
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<br>A small but growing number are shedding their concern of reliance on the weather condition - and buying irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than 3 years back.<br>
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<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending upon 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 up until the total is paid off. They purchase 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](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump permitted him to irrigate a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies consisting of 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.<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](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not quickly 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 great which suggests we can pay off 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 couple of [farmers](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) having repaid the full cost of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) plans are appealing since they develop 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 profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simpleness of the design - easy-to-use, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist energize rural Africa, he said.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices in the world. The crucial problem is testing ideas and techniques in a collective style," stated Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and find out from this experiment. Financial organizations ought to begin exploring with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors 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](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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