By Nita Bhalla
KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it needs to be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and effectively utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.
"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, crouching down to examine the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
"But it works," he stated, walking over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get greater yields, particularly during dry spell periods."
Mathoka stated his profits had 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 less expensive than routine diesel.
The biodiesel he is utilizing is not simply excellent news for him - it is likewise good news for the planet.
Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha, 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 needed to produce it.
From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has actually driven forest off their land and pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - intensifying food scarcities.
"Our biodiesel comes from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the biodiesel.
"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 some of their buses - and also to regional farmers for irrigation."
More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.
DRY RIVER BEDS
Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and significantly irregular weather condition is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.
The recurring droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe hunger.
The number of Kenyans in need of food aid in March rose by almost 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to government figures.
With practically half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious lack of rain, humanitarian agencies are alerting of increased appetite in the months ahead.
"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to minimize drought in impacted locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.
"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased regional food costs are expected, which will reduce bad homes' access to food."
In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently obvious.
Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended dry spell.
Villagers grumble of travelling longer distances - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans searching for water.
Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, go over 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 small however growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather condition - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme introduced more than 3 years ago.
Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses starting from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.
The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month 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, stated the biodiesel pump enabled him to irrigate a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety 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," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Other farmers indicate the plan as a major benefit in assisting improve their output.
"The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy 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 excellent which suggests we can settle the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."
Zaynagro's effort is still in its early phases, with few farmers having repaid the full expense of the pumps.
But such biofuel plans are appealing due to the fact that they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
The simpleness of the design - user friendly, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could help energize rural Africa, he stated.
"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives in the world. The essential concern is checking concepts and methods in a collaborative style," stated Sanyal.
"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must attempt and find out from this experiment. Financial institutions need to begin 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, residential or commercial property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya
richard3203169 edited this page 2025-01-12 07:59:09 +08:00