Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya

Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md

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+<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
+<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 more inexpensively, cleanly and efficiently utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br>
+<br>"Who could believe 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>
+<br>"But it works," he said, strolling over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) water pump has actually helped me get greater yields, specifically during dry spell periods."<br>
+<br>Mathoka said his revenues had actually doubled in the two years he has actually been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 [shillings](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) ($0.20) per litre less expensive than regular diesel.<br>
+<br>The [biodiesel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) he is using is not simply excellent news for him - it is also good news for the world.<br>
+<br>Unlike most biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
+<br>That implies that as well as being cleaner and less expensive than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
+<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - worsening food shortages.<br>
+<br>"Our biodiesel originates 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](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) producing the [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/).<br>
+<br>"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 a few of their buses - and also to regional farmers for watering."<br>
+<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have up until now purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort launched by [Zaynagro](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) in 2015, said Zavery.<br>
+<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
+<br>Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively erratic weather is becoming [commonplace](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) in [nations](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
+<br>The repeating dry spells are destroying crops and [pastures](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) and are starving animals - pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of extreme cravings.<br>
+<br>The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March surged by practically 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, mostly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
+<br>With practically half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a major scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
+<br>"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to ease drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems [Network](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) in its newest report.<br>
+<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased regional food rates are prepared for, which will lower poor households' access to food."<br>
+<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are currently [evident](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy).<br>
+<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged drought.<br>
+<br>Villagers experience travelling longer distances - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans [searching](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) for water.<br>
+<br>Small-scale farmers, most of whom are reliant on rain-fed farming, go over  to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.<br>
+<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889)<br>
+<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
+<br>A little however growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme introduced more than 3 years earlier.<br>
+<br>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.<br>
+<br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments up until the total is settled. They buy the [biodiesel](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
+<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump permitted him to water a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies consisting of 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](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex 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 major benefit in assisting improve their output.<br>
+<br>"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers don't have the cash 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>
+<br>"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which indicates we can pay off the expense of the pump gradually in small amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."<br>
+<br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having paid back the complete cost of the pumps.<br>
+<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) schemes are promising because they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World [Resources](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) Institute.<br>
+<br>The simpleness of the model - easy-to-use, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - might assist energize rural Africa, he said.<br>
+<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The key concern is evaluating ideas and methods in a collective fashion," stated Sanyal.<br>
+<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial institutions should start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors 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, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, [residential](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) or commercial property rights and environment change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>