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 thought it should be a joke when he was informed he could water 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!” laughed 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 stated, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. “Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, especially during dry spell durations.”

Mathoka stated his incomes had actually doubled in the 2 years he has 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 utilizing is not just excellent news for him – it is likewise good news for the planet.

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

That indicates that along with being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no additional land is required 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 switch from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel – intensifying food shortages.

“Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning – the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton,” said Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company 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 some of their buses – and likewise to regional farmers for irrigation.”

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.

The recurring dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals – pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the verge of extreme appetite.

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

With nearly half Kenya’s 47 counties declared to have a major scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are alerting of increased appetite in the months ahead.

“Only light rains is anticipated through June … and this is not anticipated to minimize drought in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia,” said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.

“Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased local food costs are prepared for, which will minimize bad families’ access to food.”

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

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

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

Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, talk about strategies 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 little but growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather condition – and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro’s cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years ago.

Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the watering system – that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel – at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, upon the size of the pump.

The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments until the total 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 irrigate a bigger portion 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 make 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 scheme as a major benefit in assisting enhance their output.

“The instalment scheme is great. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not quickly 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 plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which suggests we can pay off the cost of the pump gradually in little amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school charges.”

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

But such biofuel schemes are promising because they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simplicity of the design – easy-to-use, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme – might help amaze rural Africa, he stated.

“There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices in the world. The essential concern is checking ideas and methods in a collective style,” stated Sanyal.

“Other cotton ginning factories in the region should attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial organizations must begin explore 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, home rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)