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Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya

Nolan Breedlove 2025-01-12 10:11:15 +08:00
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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 ([Thomson Reuters](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.<br>
<br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, bending down to inspect the [watermelons](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
<br>"But it works," he stated, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) water pump has helped me get greater yields, especially during dry spell periods."<br>
<br>Mathoka said his incomes had actually doubled in the two years he has actually been pumping water using [biodiesel](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4), which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.<br>
<br>The biodiesel he is using is not simply excellent news for him - it is likewise excellent news for the world.<br>
<br>Unlike many biofuels, which are obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
<br>That means that in addition to being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) crops has actually driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food lacks.<br>
<br>"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, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business producing the [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/).<br>
<br>"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 some of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."<br>
<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have up until now purchased [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) pumps for watering as part of an initiative released by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
<br>Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively irregular weather condition is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
<br>The repeating dry spells are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe appetite.<br>
<br>The number of Kenyans in [requirement](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) of food help in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to government figures.<br>
<br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a major shortage of rain, humanitarian firms are cautioning of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
<br>"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to minimize drought in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.<br>
<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will minimize poor families' access to food."<br>
<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently obvious.<br>
<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended dry spell.<br>
<br>Villagers complain of trekking longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans searching for water.<br>
<br>Small-scale farmers, the of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, go over strategies to sell their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.<br>
<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
<br>A little but growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather condition - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched more than three years back.<br>
<br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the [watering](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) system - that includes the [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
<br>The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments till the overall is settled. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
<br>[Farmer Alex](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) pump allowed him to irrigate a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of vegetables including maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.<br>
<br>"With a diesel pump, maize yields were lower and I would get 15,000 shillings in three months. With the [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
<br>Other farmers point to the scheme as a major advantage in helping enhance their output.<br>
<br>"The instalment plan is great. Most farmers do not have the money and can not quickly get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his [blue biodiesel](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4) pump.<br>
<br>"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are good which implies we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."<br>
<br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early stages, with few farmers having actually repaid the full expense of the pumps.<br>
<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) plans are promising due to the fact that they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
<br>The simplicity of the [model -](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) easy-to-use, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel integrated with a [pay-as-you-go scheme](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) - could assist amaze rural Africa, he stated.<br>
<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices worldwide. The essential problem is checking concepts and techniques in a collaborative style," [stated Sanyal](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy).<br>
<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must attempt and discover from this experiment. Financial organizations must start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors need to support experimentation."<br>
<br>($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, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>