Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya

By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was informed he might water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and effectively utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

“Who could believe it’s possible to make a fuel 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 stated, walking over to a neighboring 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 actually doubled in the two years he has been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre cheaper than routine diesel.

The biodiesel he is using is not just good news for him – it is likewise good news for the planet.

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

That means that as well as being cleaner and less expensive than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no extra land is required to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has actually driven forest communities off their land and to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel – exacerbating food lacks.

“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, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.

“We started producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use 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 actually so far invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort released by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and increasingly irregular weather is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.

The recurring dry spells are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals – pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme hunger.

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

With practically half Kenya’s 47 counties declared to have a severe lack of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased appetite in the months ahead.

“Only light rainfall is anticipated through June … and this is not anticipated to minimize dry spell in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia,” stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.

“Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased local food costs are anticipated, which will decrease poor households’ access to food.”

In Kitui’s Kyuso area, the indications are already obvious.

Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the prolonged drought.

Villagers grumble of travelling longer ranges – in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans searching for water.

Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, go over plans to offer their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui’s farmers are fretted.

A little but growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather – and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro’s cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched more than three years back.

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

The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments till the overall is settled. 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 water a larger part 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 three 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 point to the scheme as a significant advantage 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,” 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 implies we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school charges.”

Zaynagro’s initiative is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having actually repaid the full expense of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are promising due to the fact that they develop a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simplicity of the model – easy-to-use, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan – could help energize rural Africa, he said.

“There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices on the planet. The crucial concern is checking concepts and methods in a collaborative fashion,” said Sanyal.

“Other cotton ginning factories in the area ought to attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial institutions must begin experimenting with 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, females’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)