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 should be a joke when he was informed he could water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.

“Who could think it’s possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn’t!” chuckled Mathoka, bending down to inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya’s southeast Kitui county.

“But it works,” he said, strolling over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. “Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get higher yields, specifically throughout dry spell periods.”

Mathoka stated his revenues had actually doubled in the two 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 using is not simply good news for him – it is likewise excellent news for the world.

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

That suggests that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than routine 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 driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel – worsening food shortages.

“Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning – the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton,” stated 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, sell 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 up until now invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively erratic weather condition is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.

The repeating droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals – pushing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of severe hunger.

The number of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March rose by practically 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, mainly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.

With almost half Kenya’s 47 counties declared to have a serious scarcity of rain, humanitarian firms are alerting of in the months ahead.

“Only light rainfall is forecast through June … and this is not expected to reduce dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia,” stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.

“Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will decrease bad families’ access to food.”

In Kitui’s Kyuso location, the signs are currently obvious.

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

Villagers complain 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, many of whom are reliant on rain-fed farming, go over strategies to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui’s farmers are fretted.

A small but growing number are shedding their concern 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 buy the watering system – that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel – at expenses beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the overall is settled. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump permitted him to irrigate a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range 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 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can earn 45,000 shillings,” stated 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 major benefit in helping enhance their output.

“The instalment scheme 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 beside his blue biodiesel pump.

“Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are great which means we can settle the expense 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 couple of farmers having actually repaid the complete cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel plans are appealing since they create 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 – user friendly, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme – might assist energize rural Africa, he said.

“There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives on the planet. The crucial concern is evaluating ideas and approaches in a collaborative style,” said Sanyal.

“Other cotton ginning factories in the area must attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks ought to 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, ladies’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)