GitLab

By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was told he might water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and effectively 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, bending down to examine the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.

"But it works," he stated, strolling over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get greater yields, especially throughout drought periods."

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 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 most 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 suggests 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 additional land is required to produce it.

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

"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 business 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 up until now invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and significantly erratic weather is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.

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

The number of Kenyans in requirement of in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to government figures.

With practically half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe shortage of rain, humanitarian firms are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.

"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to ease drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.

"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food rates are anticipated, which will minimize poor families' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently apparent.

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

Villagers suffer travelling longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans searching for water.

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

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.

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

Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses starting from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments until the overall 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 permitted him to water a bigger part 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 make 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 indicate the scheme as a significant benefit in helping enhance their output.

"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers do not have the cash 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 means we can pay off the cost of the pump slowly 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 cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are appealing since they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simplicity of the design - easy-to-use, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could help electrify rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The key concern is testing concepts and techniques in a collaborative style," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the area need to attempt and discover from this experiment. Banks must begin experimenting with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors 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, residential or commercial property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)