diff --git a/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Eliminate-Drought-In-Kenya.md b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Eliminate-Drought-In-Kenya.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..15f0bcd --- /dev/null +++ b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Eliminate-Drought-In-Kenya.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +
By Nita Bhalla
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KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it should be a joke when he was told he might irrigate his [drought-hit crops](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) more cheaply, [cleanly](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) and effectively utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.
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"Who could think 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 town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
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"But it works," he said, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get greater yields, particularly throughout dry spell periods."
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his revenues had doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 [shillings](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.
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The biodiesel he is using is not simply great news for him - it is likewise excellent news for the world.
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Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, [rapeseed](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) and [jatropha curcas](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making procedure.
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That suggests that along with being cleaner and less expensive than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no extra land is [required](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) to produce it.
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From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) crops has driven forest communities off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more [profitable crops-for-fuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) - intensifying food lacks.
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"Our biodiesel originates 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](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053).
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"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 also to regional farmers for watering."
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More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now purchased biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.
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DRY RIVER BEDS
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Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and progressively irregular weather condition is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.
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The repeating droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe appetite.
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The number of Kenyans in need of food help in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, mostly due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.
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With practically half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased appetite in the months ahead.
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"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to minimize drought in impacted locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.
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"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food costs are expected, which will reduce poor families' access to food."
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In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are already evident.
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Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged drought.
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Villagers grumble of trekking longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans looking for water.
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Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on rain-fed farming, discuss plans to sell their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is bad.
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[BATTLING DROUGHT](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) WITH [BIODIESEL](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053)
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But not all [Kitui's farmers](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) are worried.
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A small but growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a [pay-as-you-go plan](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) released more than 3 years back.
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Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the irrigation system - which consists of the [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.
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The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the overall is settled. They purchase the [biodiesel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.
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Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump [enabled](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) him to irrigate a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables including maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.
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"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 village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.
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CIRCULAR ECONOMY
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Other farmers point to the plan as a major benefit in helping enhance their output.
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"The instalment plan is excellent. Most farmers don't 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.
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"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which means we can pay off the expense of the pump gradually in small quantities, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."
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Zaynagro's effort is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having paid back the complete cost of the pumps.
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But such [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) schemes are appealing due to the fact that they [produce](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) for earnings, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
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The simplicity of the design - easy-to-use, robust technology, guaranteed supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could help electrify rural Africa, he said.
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"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices in the world. The essential issue is testing ideas and methods in a collective style," stated Sanyal.
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"Other cotton ginning factories in the area need to try and discover from this experiment. Banks must begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."
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($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by [Claire Cozens](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited). Please credit the [Thomson Reuters](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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