1 Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya

Fallon Moen edited this page 2025-01-12 00:58:11 +08:00

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 cheaply, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, crouching down to check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.

"But it works," he said, strolling over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get greater yields, specifically throughout drought durations."

Mathoka stated his profits had doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than regular diesel.

The biodiesel he is using is not just great news for him - it is likewise great news for the planet.

Unlike the majority of 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 suggests that in addition to being cleaner and less expensive than routine 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 communities off their land and pushed farmers to switch 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 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 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 a few of their buses - and also to regional farmers for irrigation."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and increasingly unpredictable weather is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.

The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe cravings.

The variety of Kenyans in need of food aid in March rose by practically 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to government figures.

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

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

"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased regional food costs are prepared for, which will lower poor families' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are currently obvious.

Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended drought.

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

Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on rain-fed farming, talk about strategies to sell their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.

A little but growing number are shedding their problem of dependence on the weather condition - and investing in watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched 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 from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments up until the overall 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 allowed him to water a larger part 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," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other point to the scheme as a significant advantage in helping improve their output.

"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not quickly get a loan to purchase a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.

"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which suggests we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school costs."

Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with few farmers having repaid the complete expense of the pumps.

But such biofuel plans are appealing because they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, 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 integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - could assist amaze rural Africa, he said.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options on the planet. The key problem is testing concepts and methods in a collective style," stated Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region should attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks must begin exploring with 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, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)