Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya
Kathy Serena edited this page 6 days ago


By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it should be a joke when he was told he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and effectively using a pump sustained by cotton waste.

"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, bending down to inspect 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 higher yields, especially during drought periods."

Mathoka said his incomes had doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre cheaper than regular diesel.

The biodiesel he is utilizing is not just good news for him - it is also great news for the world.

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

That implies that in addition to being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is required to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - intensifying food .

"Our biodiesel comes 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.

"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 a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and significantly irregular weather is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.

The recurring dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe hunger.

The number of Kenyans in need of food aid in March surged by nearly 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

With practically half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a major lack of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased appetite in the months ahead.

"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to reduce dry spell in impacted locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.

"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased local food costs are prepared for, which will lower bad households' access to food."

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

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

Villagers complain of travelling longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans looking for water.

Small-scale farmers, many of whom are reliant on rain-fed farming, go over strategies to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.

A small however growing number are shedding their problem of dependence on the weather - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan released more than 3 years ago.

Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses starting from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.

The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments until the overall is paid off. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump allowed him to irrigate a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range 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," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers point to the scheme as a major benefit in assisting enhance their output.

"The instalment scheme is excellent. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not quickly get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.

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

Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having actually repaid the complete cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are appealing due to the fact that they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the model - user friendly, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might help amaze rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices in the world. The key concern is evaluating ideas and techniques in a collective style," stated Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the area should attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial organizations ought to 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, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)