Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya

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

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+<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
+<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan [farmer Abel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently using a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br>
+<br>"Who could think 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](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
+<br>"But it works," he said, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, specifically throughout dry spell durations."<br>
+<br>Mathoka said his profits had doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than regular diesel.<br>
+<br>The biodiesel he is using is not simply good news for him - it is also excellent news for the planet.<br>
+<br>Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are [derived](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.<br>
+<br>That implies that as well as being cleaner and [cheaper](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) than routine fuel, it is more [sustainable](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
+<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.<br>
+<br>"Our [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.<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, offer it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and also to regional farmers for irrigation."<br>
+<br>More than 1,200 [farmers](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) in Kitui have actually up until now bought [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) pumps for watering 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 across east Africa and significantly erratic weather condition is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
+<br>The repeating droughts are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless 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 rose by nearly 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, mainly due to bad rains, according to government figures.<br>
+<br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian firms are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.<br>
+<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to relieve drought in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.<br>
+<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food prices are prepared for, which will decrease bad families' access to food."<br>
+<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are already evident.<br>
+<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged dry spell.<br>
+<br>Villagers grumble of travelling longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
+<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, go over plans to sell their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.<br>
+<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053)<br>
+<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.<br>
+<br>A small but growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather condition - and buying irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) through a pay-as-you-go plan launched more than three years earlier.<br>
+<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the watering system - which includes the [biodiesel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at [expenses](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) beginning with 32,000 shillings,  on the size of the pump.<br>
+<br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments up until the total is paid off. They buy the [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
+<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) pump allowed him to irrigate a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables 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 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 advantage in assisting improve their output.<br>
+<br>"The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers don't have the money and can not quickly get a loan to buy a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
+<br>"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which means we can settle the expense of the pump gradually in small quantities, and have money left over to pay the school fees."<br>
+<br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with few [farmers](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) having paid back the full cost of the pumps.<br>
+<br>But such [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) plans are appealing due to the fact that they produce a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
+<br>The simpleness of the [design -](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) easy-to-use, robust innovation, guaranteed supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - could help amaze rural Africa, he stated.<br>
+<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The crucial concern is testing ideas and methods in a collective style," said Sanyal.<br>
+<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region should try and gain from this experiment. Banks should begin try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors need 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, home rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>