Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya

By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it must be a joke when he was informed he could irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily 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 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, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. “Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get greater yields, especially throughout drought periods.”

Mathoka said his earnings had 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 cheaper than regular diesel.

The biodiesel he is using is not just good news for him – it is likewise good news for the world.

Unlike most biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha, it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.

That means that along with being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is needed to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel 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 scarcities.

“Our biodiesel 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.

“We started 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 a few of their buses – and also to regional farmers for irrigation.”

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now bought biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

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

The recurring dry spells are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals – pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme hunger.

The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March surged by almost 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, mainly due to poor rains, according to government figures.

With practically half Kenya’s 47 counties stated to have a major 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 anticipated to reduce dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia,” said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.

“Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will decrease bad homes’ access to food.”

In Kitui’s Kyuso location, the signs are currently apparent.

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

Villagers suffer trekking longer distances – often 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 strategies to offer their goats to make ends fulfill 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 problem of dependence on the weather condition – and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro’s cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan launched more than three years ago.

Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the irrigation system – that includes the pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel – at costs 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 until the overall is settled. They buy 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 irrigate a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables including 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 benefit in helping enhance their output.

“The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this,” stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.

“Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are good which indicates we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in little amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school costs.”

Zaynagro’s initiative is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having repaid the full cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel plans are appealing because they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for revenue, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the design – easy-to-use, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan – could assist energize rural Africa, he said.

“There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The key concern is testing concepts and techniques in a collaborative fashion,” stated Sanyal.

“Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and find out from this experiment. Financial organizations should start 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 environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)