1 Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Eliminate Drought In Kenya

vincentwooley edited this page 2025-01-12 15:14:24 +09:00

By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was told he could water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and efficiently using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

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

"But it works," he stated, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get greater yields, specifically during drought periods."

Mathoka stated 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 regular diesel.

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

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

That means that as well as being cleaner and cheaper than routine 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 neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food lacks.

"Our biodiesel originates from squashing 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.

"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 a few of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for watering."

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now purchased biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative released by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

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

The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe hunger.

The variety of Kenyans in need of food aid in March rose by practically 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to government figures.

With almost half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe lack of rain, humanitarian firms are cautioning of increased cravings in the months ahead.

"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to relieve dry spell in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.

"Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased local food prices are expected, which will minimize bad homes' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are already obvious.

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

Villagers suffer trekking longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans searching for water.

Small-scale farmers, many of whom are reliant on rain-fed farming, talk about 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 little however growing number are shedding their burden of reliance on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan launched more than three years earlier.

Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the watering system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the overall is settled. They buy 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 irrigate a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies 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," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers point to the plan as a significant benefit in assisting improve their output.

"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers don't have the cash 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 pump.

"Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are good which suggests we can settle the cost of the pump slowly in percentages, and have cash 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 expense of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are appealing because they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the model - easy-to-use, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist electrify rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The essential concern is checking ideas and approaches in a collaborative fashion," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial institutions need to begin explore 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 modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)