Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight 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 might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and efficiently using 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!” chuckled Mathoka, crouching 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 stated, strolling over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. “Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get greater yields, particularly during drought durations.”

Mathoka said his revenues had doubled in the two years he has actually been pumping water using 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 planet.

Unlike most 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 as well as being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no additional 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 pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel – intensifying food scarcities.

“Our biodiesel comes from squashing 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 business producing the biodiesel.

“We began producing and using 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 also to regional farmers for irrigation.”

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far purchased biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change 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, resulting in lower rains.

The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals – pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe appetite.

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

With almost half Kenya’s 47 counties declared to have a major lack of rain, humanitarian firms are cautioning of increased hunger in the months ahead.

“Only light rains is anticipated through June … and this is not anticipated to ease 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 rates are prepared for, which will minimize bad families’ access to food.”

In Kitui’s Kyuso area, the signs are already evident.

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

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

Small-scale farmers, most of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, talk about plans to sell their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui’s farmers are stressed.

A small however growing number are shedding their of reliance on the weather – and investing in irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro’s cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched more than 3 years back.

Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the irrigation system – which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel – at expenses beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments till the total 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 allowed him to irrigate a larger 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 make 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 scheme as a significant advantage in assisting improve their output.

“The instalment plan is great. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this,” stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.

“Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which means we can pay off the cost of the pump slowly in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school costs.”

Zaynagro’s effort is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having actually paid back the complete expense of the pumps.

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

The simplicity of the design – user friendly, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme – might help energize rural Africa, he said.

“There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The essential problem is evaluating concepts and techniques in a collective fashion,” stated Sanyal.

“Other cotton ginning factories in the area must attempt and learn from this experiment. Banks should begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors need 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, residential or commercial property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)