Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers To Combat Drought In Kenya

By Nita Bhalla


KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it should be a joke when he was told he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.


"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, bending down to examine the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.


"But it works," he stated, walking over to a neighboring tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get greater yields, particularly during dry spell durations."


Mathoka said his profits had actually doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.


The biodiesel he is using is not simply great news for him - it is likewise great news for the planet.


Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha curcas, it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.


That indicates that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than regular 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 actually driven forest communities off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - intensifying food lacks.


"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, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.


"We began 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 likewise to regional farmers for irrigation."


More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now bought biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative released by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.


DRY RIVER BEDS


Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and progressively irregular weather condition is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.


The recurring dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme appetite.


The variety of Kenyans in need of food help in March surged by practically 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, mostly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.


With almost half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a severe scarcity of rain, humanitarian agencies are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.


"Only light rains is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to minimize drought in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.


"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food prices are expected, which will minimize poor households' access to food."


In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are currently evident.


Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended dry spell.


Villagers suffer travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans in search of water.


Small-scale farmers, most of whom are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, discuss plans to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is bad.


BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL


But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.


A little but number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather condition - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years ago.


Neighbouring farmers unite to buy the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs starting from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.


The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the total is settled. They purchase 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 bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.


"With a diesel pump, maize yields were lower and I would get 15,000 shillings in three months. With the biodiesel pump, I can earn 45,000 shillings," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.


CIRCULAR ECONOMY


Other farmers indicate the scheme as a major benefit in helping improve their output.


"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers do not have the money and can not quickly get a loan to purchase a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.


"Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which implies we can pay off the expense of the pump gradually in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school fees."


Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having paid back the full cost of the pumps.


But such biofuel plans are promising due to the fact that they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.


The simpleness of the design - user friendly, robust technology, guaranteed supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - might assist electrify rural Africa, he said.


"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options on the planet. The essential concern is testing concepts and methods in a collaborative fashion," stated Sanyal.


"Other cotton ginning factories in the area need to attempt and find out from this experiment. Financial organizations need to start explore 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, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)