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1 Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya

By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it must 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.

"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 inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.

"But it works," he said, walking over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get greater yields, particularly during drought periods."

Mathoka said his earnings had actually doubled in the two years he has actually been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than routine diesel.

The biodiesel he is using is not just excellent news for him - it is likewise good news for the planet.

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

That means that along with being cleaner and less expensive than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no additional land is needed to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food scarcities.

"Our biodiesel originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.

"We started 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 likewise to regional farmers for watering."

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now bought biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change 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 rainfall.

The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme hunger.

The number of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March rose by practically 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, mainly due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious lack of rain, humanitarian agencies are cautioning of increased hunger in the months ahead.

"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to minimize dry spell in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.

"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will decrease bad homes' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are already apparent.

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

Villagers experience trekking longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans looking for water.

Small-scale farmers, most of whom depend on agriculture, go over plans to offer their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.

A little however growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than 3 years ago.

Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the watering system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments until the total is paid off. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump permitted him to irrigate a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.

"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.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers point to the scheme as a major benefit in helping improve their output.

"The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.

"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which means we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school charges."

Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having paid back the full cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are promising due to the fact that they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the model - easy-to-use, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist electrify rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The key concern is testing concepts and approaches in a collaborative style," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the area need to try and find out from this experiment. Banks need to start try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors require 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, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)