mission-biotechnologies-sdn.-bhd

By Nita Bhalla

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

"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, crouching 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 said, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get higher yields, particularly throughout drought periods."

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

The biodiesel he is utilizing is not simply good news for him - it is likewise excellent news for the world.

Unlike many biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha, 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 actually driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.

"Our biodiesel originates from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.

"We started producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and also to regional farmers for watering."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and significantly unpredictable weather is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.

The recurring droughts are and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme appetite.

The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March surged by almost 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.

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

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

"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased regional food rates are expected, which will lower poor homes' 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 prolonged drought.

Villagers suffer trekking longer distances - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans in search of water.

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

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.

A small but growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan released more than 3 years earlier.

Neighbouring farmers band together to invest in the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments till the total 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 irrigate 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 three 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 indicate the plan as a significant advantage in helping improve their output.

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

"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which indicates we can pay off the expense of the pump slowly in small amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."

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

But such biofuel plans are appealing since they develop a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - might help electrify rural Africa, he said.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The essential concern is testing concepts and approaches in a collective style," stated Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must try and learn from this experiment. Banks must start explore 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, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and environment change. Visit http://news.trust.org)