Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya

Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md

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+<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
+<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 ( Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was told he could water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and [efficiently utilizing](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) a pump fuelled by cotton waste.<br>
+<br>"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
+<br>"But it works," he said, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get greater yields, particularly during drought periods."<br>
+<br>Mathoka said his revenues 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 less expensive than regular diesel.<br>
+<br>The [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) he is using is not simply great news for him - it is likewise good news for the world.<br>
+<br>Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
+<br>That suggests that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no additional land is needed to produce it.<br>
+<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) crops has actually driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food lacks.<br>
+<br>"Our [biodiesel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.<br>
+<br>"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 local farmers for irrigation."<br>
+<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far purchased biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort released by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
+<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
+<br>Climate modification is taking a toll throughout [east Africa](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) and increasingly unpredictable weather is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.<br>
+<br>The recurring dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are [starving animals](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) - pressing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme cravings.<br>
+<br>The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March surged by practically 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, mostly due to bad rains, according to [government figures](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4).<br>
+<br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 [counties](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) declared to have a severe shortage of rain, [humanitarian firms](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) are cautioning of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
+<br>"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to minimize drought in impacted locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most [current report](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited).<br>
+<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased local food costs are expected, which will minimize poor families' access to food."<br>
+<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are already evident.<br>
+<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged drought.<br>
+<br>Villagers experience trekking longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
+<br>Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, go over plans to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.<br>
+<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile)<br>
+<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.<br>
+<br>A small however growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's [cotton seed](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) [biodiesel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than 3 years earlier.<br>
+<br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the watering system - which includes 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.<br>
+<br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments until the overall is paid off. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
+<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump enabled him to irrigate a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies including maize, tomatoes, [spinach](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) and sweet potatoes.<br>
+<br>"With a diesel pump, maize yields were lower and I would get 15,000 shillings in 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, [standing](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
+<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
+<br>Other farmers point to the scheme as a major advantage in assisting improve their output.<br>
+<br>"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
+<br>"Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which implies we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in little amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."<br>
+<br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having paid back the full expense of the pumps.<br>
+<br>But such [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) plans are [appealing](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) since they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) for earnings, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
+<br>The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might help [amaze rural](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) Africa, he said.<br>
+<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices on the planet. The crucial problem is checking ideas and methods in a collective style," said Sanyal.<br>
+<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must try and find out from this experiment. Financial organizations must start try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."<br>
+<br>($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](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>