commit 4200c1a4e95a1b28c357dde439e8f7696d8b4108 Author: robertomcclint Date: Sat Jan 18 08:50:20 2025 +0000 Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya diff --git a/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ccc640a --- /dev/null +++ b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-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 thought it must be a joke when he was told he might water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, cleanly and efficiently utilizing a pump sustained 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!" laughed Mathoka, bending down to inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
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"But it works," he stated, strolling over to a close-by tree and [plucking](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get greater yields, especially throughout dry spell durations."
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Mathoka stated his earnings 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 more affordable than regular diesel.
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The biodiesel he is using is not simply good 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 and [jatropha](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.
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That means that along with being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no additional land is needed to produce it.
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From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) crops has actually driven forest communities off their land and pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food lacks.
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"Our biodiesel originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business the biodiesel.
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"We started producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now utilize it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for irrigation."
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More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now bought [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.
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DRY RIVER BEDS
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Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and increasingly irregular weather condition is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.
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The repeating droughts are [ruining crops](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme cravings.
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The number of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March rose by nearly 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.
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With practically half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious [scarcity](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) of rain, humanitarian agencies are alerting of increased appetite in the months ahead.
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"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to ease drought in impacted areas 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, bad livestock body conditions, and increased regional food rates are anticipated, which will decrease bad households' access to food."
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In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently evident.
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Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended dry spell.
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[Villagers experience](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) trekking longer distances - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their [donkeys](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) laden with empty [jerry cans](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) in search of water.
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Small-scale farmers, most of whom depend on rain-fed farming, talk about strategies to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is bad.
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BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL
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But not all Kitui's farmers are [stressed](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889).
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A small but growing number are shedding their concern of reliance on the weather condition - and investing in watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than 3 years back.
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Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - which consists of 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.
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The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the total is paid off. They buy the [biodiesel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.
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Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump allowed him to irrigate a larger part of his [one-acre](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) plot, where he grows a range of veggies consisting of 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 3 months. With the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," [stated Alex](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4) 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 improve their output.
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"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers don't have the money and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) pump.
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"Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are good which suggests we can pay off the expense of the pump slowly in little quantities, and have money left over to pay the school costs."
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Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having actually repaid the full cost of the pumps.
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But such [biofuel](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) plans are promising because they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
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The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might assist electrify rural Africa, he stated.
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"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options on the planet. The essential concern is checking ideas and methods in a collective fashion," said Sanyal.
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"Other cotton ginning factories in the area should try and gain from this experiment. Banks should start exploring with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."
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($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) ([Reporting](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of [Thomson](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and [climate](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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