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 might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and effectively utilizing a pump fuelled 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, bending down to inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
"But it works," he stated, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, particularly during dry spell durations."
Mathoka said his incomes had actually doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre cheaper than regular diesel.
The biodiesel he is utilizing is not just great news for him - it is also excellent news for the world.
Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha, it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making procedure.
That means that as well as being cleaner and cheaper than routine 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 pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.
"Our biodiesel comes from crushing 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 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, 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 up until now bought biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.
DRY RIVER BEDS
Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather condition is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.
The recurring droughts are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe hunger.
The number of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March surged by nearly 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, mostly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.
With almost half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased cravings in the months ahead.
"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to ease 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 animals body conditions, and increased local food prices are anticipated, which will reduce bad homes' access to food."
In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are currently apparent.
Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the prolonged dry spell.
Villagers grumble of trekking longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans looking for water.
Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, talk about plans 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 however 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 scheme launched more than three years ago.
Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses starting from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.
The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly up until 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 allowed him to water a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables 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," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Other farmers indicate the plan as a significant benefit in assisting enhance their output.
"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.
"Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are good which suggests we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in little quantities, and have money left over to pay the school fees."
Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having actually repaid the full expense of the pumps.
But such biofuel plans are promising because they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
The simplicity of the model - easy-to-use, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist amaze rural Africa, he said.
"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The key issue is evaluating concepts and approaches in a collaborative style," stated Sanyal.
"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and discover from this experiment. Banks need to begin try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers require 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)
