By Nita Bhalla
KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it needs to be a joke when he was told he could irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, cleanly and efficiently utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.
"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 check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
"But it works," he stated, strolling over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get greater yields, specifically throughout drought durations."
Mathoka stated his revenues had actually doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than regular diesel.
The biodiesel he is utilizing is not simply excellent news for him - it is likewise great news for the world.
Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha curcas, it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.
That means that in addition to being cleaner and less expensive than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is needed to produce it.
From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest communities off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.
"Our biodiesel originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.
"We began producing and using 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 likewise to local farmers for irrigation."
More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort released by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.
DRY RIVER BEDS
Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and significantly unpredictable weather condition is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.
The repeating droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the verge of severe cravings.
The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March rose by almost 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to government figures.
With almost half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased hunger in the months ahead.
"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to reduce drought in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.
"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food rates are anticipated, which will decrease poor households' access to food."
In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are already obvious.
Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended drought.
Villagers grumble of trekking longer distances - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans searching for water.
Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, discuss plans to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.
BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL
But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.
A small however growing number are shedding their concern of dependence on the weather condition - and investing in irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched more than 3 years earlier.
Neighbouring farmers unite to purchase the irrigation system - that includes the pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.
The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments up 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, stated the biodiesel pump enabled 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.
"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 advantage in helping enhance 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," stated 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 good which implies we can settle the expense of the pump gradually in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."
Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having paid back the complete expense of the pumps.
But such biofuel schemes are promising due to the fact that they develop a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, stated 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 energize rural Africa, he said.
"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The essential issue is evaluating ideas and methods in a collaborative style," said Sanyal.
"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial institutions should begin try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers 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, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and environment change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya
Nelle Thring edited this page 3 months ago