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 needs to be a joke when he was told he might irrigate his [drought-hit crops](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) more cheaply, [cleanly](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) and efficiently using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.<br>
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<br>"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, [bending](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) 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, strolling over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, particularly during dry spell durations."<br>
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<br>[Mathoka](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) said his incomes had doubled in the two years he has actually been pumping water using 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](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) he is using is not just great news for him - it is likewise great news for the planet.<br>
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<br>Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.<br>
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<br>That implies that in addition to being cleaner and less expensive than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no extra land is required to produce 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](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) off their land and pushed farmers to switch from [crops-for-food](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - [exacerbating food](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) shortages.<br>
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<br>"Our biodiesel originates from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said 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 likewise to local farmers for irrigation."<br>
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far purchased [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.<br>
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<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
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<br>Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and increasingly unpredictable weather condition is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
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<br>The repeating dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme cravings.<br>
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<br>The number of Kenyans in need of food help in March rose by practically 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, mainly due to bad 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 companies are cautioning of [increased cravings](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to relieve dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased local food costs are anticipated, which will decrease bad homes' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are already obvious.<br>
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<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended dry spell.<br>
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<br>Villagers experience trekking longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans searching for water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, talk about strategies to sell their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is bad.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053)<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 burden of dependence on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme introduced more than 3 years earlier.<br>
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<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the watering system - that includes the [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
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<br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the total is [settled](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86). 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 allowed him to irrigate a bigger 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 three months. With the biodiesel pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, near his plot in Ilangilo town, 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 major benefit in helping enhance their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers don't have the money and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," said 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 good which means we can pay off the expense of the pump gradually in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school costs."<br>
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<br>[Zaynagro's effort](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having actually paid back the full cost of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) schemes are promising due to the fact that they produce a [circular economy](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) by turning waste to [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simplicity of the model - user friendly, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - might [assist electrify](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) rural Africa, he said.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The crucial concern is testing concepts and approaches in a collective style," said Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region should attempt and find out from this experiment. Financial institutions ought to begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."<br>
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<br>($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, [Editing](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) 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, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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