This will delete the page "Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya"
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By Nita Bhalla
KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie believed it should be a joke when he was told he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and efficiently using a pump sustained by cotton waste.
"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
"But it works," he said, strolling 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 throughout dry spell periods."
Mathoka said his incomes had actually doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.
The biodiesel he is utilizing is not simply excellent news for him - it is likewise excellent news for the world.
Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha, it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.
That suggests that as well as being cleaner and less expensive than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no additional 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 successful crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.
"Our biodiesel comes from squashing 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 use it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and also to local farmers for irrigation."
More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.
DRY RIVER BEDS
Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and increasingly irregular weather condition is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.
The recurring droughts are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme appetite.
The number of Kenyans in need of food aid in March rose by nearly 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, mainly due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.
With almost half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased hunger in the months ahead.
"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to minimize drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.
"Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased local food costs are prepared for, which will minimize bad families' access to food."
In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are already evident.
Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged drought.
Villagers complain of travelling longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans looking for water.
Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, talk about plans to offer their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is poor.
BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL
But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.
A small but growing number are shedding their burden 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 introduced more than three years back.
Neighbouring farmers unite to buy 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 a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments up until the total 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 permitted him to irrigate a larger part 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 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can earn 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 indicate the scheme as a major advantage in helping enhance their output.
"The instalment plan is great. Most farmers do not 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 plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which indicates we can pay off the cost of the pump slowly in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school charges."
Zaynagro's effort is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having paid back the complete expense of the pumps.
But such biofuel schemes are appealing since they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
The simplicity of the model - user friendly, robust technology, guaranteed supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could help electrify rural Africa, he said.
"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices on the planet. The crucial issue is testing concepts and techniques in a collective style," stated Sanyal.
"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks must 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, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)
This will delete the page "Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya"
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