Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya
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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
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<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan [farmer Abel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) Mutie Mathoka thought it should be a joke when he was [informed](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and effectively utilizing a pump [fuelled](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) by [cotton waste](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/).<br>
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<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](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
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<br>"But it works," he stated, strolling over to a nearby tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, specifically during dry spell durations."<br>
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<br>Mathoka stated his earnings had actually doubled in the 2 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.<br>
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<br>The [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) he is using is not just excellent news for him - it is likewise good news for the world.<br>
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<br>Unlike most biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making process.<br>
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<br>That indicates that as well as being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no additional land is needed to [produce](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has actually neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - worsening food scarcities.<br>
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<br>"Our [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) comes from crushing 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](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608).<br>
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<br>"We began producing and using 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 irrigation."<br>
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort released by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
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<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
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<br>[Climate modification](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
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<br>The repeating droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme cravings.<br>
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<br>The variety of Kenyans in need of food help in March rose by practically 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, mainly due to poor rains, according to government figures.<br>
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<br>With practically half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of [increased cravings](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to reduce drought in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will decrease bad households' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are currently obvious.<br>
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<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended dry spell.<br>
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<br>Villagers experience trekking longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, go over strategies to sell their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price)<br>
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.<br>
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<br>A little but growing number are shedding their burden of reliance on the weather condition - and investing in irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a [pay-as-you-go plan](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) introduced more than three years ago.<br>
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<br>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 from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
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<br>The farmers make an [initial](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the overall is settled. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
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<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump permitted him to irrigate a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of vegetables consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.<br>
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<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 earn 45,000 shillings," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from [Kitui town](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html).<br>
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<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
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<br>Other farmers indicate the plan as a significant advantage in assisting improve their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers don't 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.<br>
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<br>"Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which indicates we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school charges."<br>
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<br>[Zaynagro's initiative](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having repaid the complete expense of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such biofuel plans are appealing due to the fact that they develop a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy [Finance](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simplicity of the model - user friendly, robust innovation, guaranteed supply of [biodiesel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) integrated with a [pay-as-you-go plan](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) - could help energize rural Africa, he stated.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices on the planet. The crucial concern is checking ideas and methods in a collaborative fashion," said Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the region need to attempt and discover from this experiment. Financial organizations must start try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."<br>
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<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, [property](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) rights and environment change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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