Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate 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](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) believed it must be a joke when he was told he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and efficiently using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.<br>
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<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](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
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<br>"But it works," he said, walking over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get higher yields, specifically during dry spell periods."<br>
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<br>Mathoka stated his profits had actually doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water utilizing [biodiesel](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), which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than regular diesel.<br>
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<br>The biodiesel he is utilizing 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 obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
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<br>That means that along with being cleaner and less expensive than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no additional land is required to produce it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) crops has actually driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to change from [crops-for-food](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - worsening food scarcities.<br>
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<br>"Our biodiesel comes 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.<br>
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<br>"We started producing and utilizing 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 some of their buses - and also to local farmers for irrigation."<br>
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now bought biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort introduced 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 irregular weather is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.<br>
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<br>The repeating dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals [- pressing](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) countless people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of severe hunger.<br>
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<br>The variety of Kenyans in [requirement](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) of [food aid](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) in March rose by almost 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to government figures.<br>
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<br>With almost half Kenya's 47 counties [declared](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) to have a serious lack of rain, humanitarian agencies are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to ease dry spell in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food prices are prepared for, which will reduce bad homes' access to food."<br>
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<br>In [Kitui's Kyuso](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) location, the signs are already obvious.<br>
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<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended drought.<br>
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<br>Villagers suffer travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans in search of water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, go over strategies to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is bad.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608)<br>
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
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<br>A small but growing number are shedding their problem of dependence on the weather condition - and investing in watering systems powered by [Zaynagro's](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than 3 years ago.<br>
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<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of [biodiesel -](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.<br>
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<br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free [monthly instalments](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) up until the total is paid off. 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](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) pump enabled him to irrigate a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables 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, [standing](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) 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 [assisting](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) enhance their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers do not have the money and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue [biodiesel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) pump.<br>
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<br>"Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which means we can pay off the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school fees."<br>
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<br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with few farmers having actually paid back the complete cost of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) plans are promising since they create a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](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) for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simpleness of the design - user friendly, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist amaze rural Africa, he said.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The key issue is checking ideas and methods in a collective style," said Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region ought to try and learn from this experiment. Banks need to start experimenting with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers require to support experimentation."<br>
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<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 or commercial property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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