1 Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya

Ariel Ehrlichmann edited this page 2025-01-12 03:31:21 +01:00

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 water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and effectively 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 village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.

"But it works," he said, walking over to a neighboring tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, specifically during drought periods."

Mathoka said 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 cheaper than routine diesel.

The biodiesel he is using is not simply excellent news for him - it is also great news for the world.

Unlike the majority 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 implies that in addition to being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that 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 pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.

"Our biodiesel comes from crushing 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 started 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 a few of their buses - and also to local farmers for watering."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.

The recurring dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe cravings.

The number of Kenyans in need of food help in March surged by almost 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, mostly due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

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

"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to minimize drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.

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

In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently evident.

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

Villagers experience trekking longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans in search of water.

Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on rain-fed farming, discuss plans 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 problem of dependence on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years earlier.

Neighbouring farmers band together to invest in the irrigation system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments until the overall 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 permitted him to water a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables 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 farmers indicate the plan as a major benefit in assisting improve their output.

"The instalment plan is great. Most farmers don't 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 great which implies we can settle the cost of the pump slowly in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."

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

But such biofuel schemes are appealing due to the fact that they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simplicity of the model - user friendly, robust innovation, guaranteed supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist amaze rural Africa, he said.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices worldwide. The crucial issue is evaluating concepts and methods in a collective style," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must try and find out from this experiment. Financial institutions ought to start try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors 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 environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)