Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya

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 <br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
 <br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer [Abel Mutie](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) Mathoka believed it should be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently using a [pump fuelled](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) by cotton waste.<br>
 <br>"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, crouching down to check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
 <br>"But it works," he said, walking over to a neighboring tree and plucking a large [green pawpaw](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm). "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get higher yields, specifically during drought periods."<br>
 <br>Mathoka stated his earnings had actually doubled in the two years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 [shillings](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) ($0.20) per litre more affordable than routine diesel.<br>
 <br>The biodiesel he is utilizing is not simply good news for him - it is also great news for the planet.<br>
 <br>Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
 <br>That implies that in addition to being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
 <br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) crops has driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - worsening food scarcities.<br>
 <br>"Our biodiesel 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 company producing the biodiesel.<br>
 <br>"We began producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and also to local farmers for watering."<br>
 <br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have up until now bought [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.<br>
 <br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
 <br>Climate change is taking a toll throughout [east Africa](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) and significantly erratic weather is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.<br>
 <br>The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - [pushing millions](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) of people in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme appetite.<br>
 <br>The variety of Kenyans in need of food help in March surged by practically 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, mostly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
 <br>With almost half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a major scarcity of rain, humanitarian firms are warning of increased cravings in the months ahead.<br>
 <br>"Only light rains is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to reduce drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.<br>
 <br>"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food prices are expected, which will minimize poor households' access to food."<br>
 <br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are already [apparent](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy).<br>
 <br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended dry spell.<br>
 <br>Villagers suffer trekking longer [distances -](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans searching for water.<br>
 <br>Small-scale farmers, the [majority](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) of whom depend on rain-fed farming, go over strategies to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.<br>
 <br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd)<br>
 <br>But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.<br>
 <br>A small but growing number are shedding their concern of reliance on the [weather -](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a  launched more than 3 years back.<br>
 <br>Neighbouring farmers band together to invest in the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) - at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.<br>
 <br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the overall is settled. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 [shillings](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) a litre.<br>
 <br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump permitted him to water a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies including maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.<br>
 <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](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
 <br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
 <br>Other farmers indicate the scheme as a significant benefit in helping improve their output.<br>
 <br>"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," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) pump.<br>
 <br>"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which indicates we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school charges."<br>
 <br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having actually repaid the full cost of the pumps.<br>
 <br>But such [biofuel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) schemes are appealing due to the fact that they create 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 revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
 <br>The simpleness of the model - easy-to-use, robust technology, guaranteed supply of [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - might assist amaze rural Africa, he said.<br>
 <br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The key concern is evaluating ideas and approaches in a collective style," said Sanyal.<br>
 <br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region ought to try and gain from this experiment. Banks ought to begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers require to support experimentation."<br>
 <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, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>