1 Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya

Olivia Ricardo edited this page 3 weeks 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 informed he could irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and effectively using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

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

"But it works," he said, over to a close-by 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."

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

The biodiesel he is using is not simply good news for him - it is also good news for the planet.

Unlike many 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 implies that as well as being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no extra land is required to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest communities off their land and pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food shortages.

"Our biodiesel originates from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, managing 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, sell it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and also to regional farmers for irrigation."

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

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

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

The number of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March surged by practically 70 percent over a duration of 8 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 severe lack of rain, humanitarian firms are cautioning of increased appetite in the months ahead.

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

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

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

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

Villagers complain of travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans searching for water.

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

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.

A small but growing number are shedding their concern of dependence on the weather - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years earlier.

Neighbouring farmers unite to purchase the watering system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments till 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 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 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can earn 45,000 shillings," stated 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 significant advantage in assisting 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," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.

"Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are good which implies we can pay off the cost of the pump slowly in little quantities, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."

Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with few farmers having actually repaid the full expense of the pumps.

But such biofuel plans are promising since they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

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

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices worldwide. The crucial problem is checking concepts and approaches in a collaborative fashion," said Sanyal.

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