Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya
parent
f4a6d79611
commit
58c177b765
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
|
|||
<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
|
||||
<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie [Mathoka](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) believed it should be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and effectively using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.<br>
|
||||
<br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" [laughed](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Mathoka, crouching down to check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
|
||||
<br>"But it works," he said, walking over to a close-by tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, especially during drought durations."<br>
|
||||
<br>Mathoka said his earnings had actually 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.<br>
|
||||
<br>The [biodiesel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) he is utilizing is not simply excellent news for him - it is also excellent news for the planet.<br>
|
||||
<br>Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are obtained from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making process.<br>
|
||||
<br>That means that in addition to being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no additional land is required to [produce](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) it.<br>
|
||||
<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to [cultivate biofuel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) crops has driven forest [communities](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - worsening food scarcities.<br>
|
||||
<br>"Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company [producing](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) the biodiesel.<br>
|
||||
<br>"We began producing and utilizing it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now utilize it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."<br>
|
||||
<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now purchased [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
|
||||
<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
|
||||
<br>Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and significantly erratic weather is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.<br>
|
||||
<br>The repeating droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are [starving animals](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) - pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of extreme hunger.<br>
|
||||
<br>The number of Kenyans in need of [food aid](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
|
||||
<br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe scarcity of rain, humanitarian agencies are warning of increased cravings in the months ahead.<br>
|
||||
<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to alleviate dry spell in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.<br>
|
||||
<br>"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food rates are prepared for, which will lower bad households' access to food."<br>
|
||||
<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are already apparent.<br>
|
||||
<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended drought.<br>
|
||||
<br>Villagers experience travelling longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans in search of water.<br>
|
||||
<br>[Small-scale](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) farmers, most of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, go over strategies to offer their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.<br>
|
||||
<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
|
||||
<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.<br>
|
||||
<br>A small but growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather - and [buying irrigation](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan launched more than three years back.<br>
|
||||
<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the watering system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs starting from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.<br>
|
||||
<br>The farmers make an payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the total is paid off. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
|
||||
<br>[Farmer Alex](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump allowed him to water a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.<br>
|
||||
<br>"With a diesel pump, maize yields were lower and I would get 15,000 shillings in three months. With the [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
|
||||
<br>[CIRCULAR](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) ECONOMY<br>
|
||||
<br>Other farmers indicate the scheme as a significant advantage in assisting improve their output.<br>
|
||||
<br>"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," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump.<br>
|
||||
<br>"Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are great which implies we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."<br>
|
||||
<br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early phases, with few [farmers](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) having repaid the complete cost of the pumps.<br>
|
||||
<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) plans are promising due to the fact that they produce a [circular economy](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) by turning waste to [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) for profit, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
|
||||
<br>The simpleness of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - might assist electrify rural Africa, he said.<br>
|
||||
<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives in the world. The essential issue is checking ideas and approaches in a collaborative fashion," stated Sanyal.<br>
|
||||
<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area ought to attempt and gain from this experiment. Financial institutions ought to begin exploring with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers require to support experimentation."<br>
|
||||
<br>($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, residential or commercial property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue