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 could irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.

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

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

Mathoka stated his earnings had doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than routine diesel.

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

Unlike many biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha, it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.

That indicates that as well as being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no additional land is required 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 rewarding crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food shortages.

"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 began producing and using 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 also to local farmers for watering.“

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have up until now purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and significantly irregular weather is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.

The recurring dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of severe hunger.

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

With nearly half Kenya’s 47 counties stated to have a severe shortage of rain, humanitarian agencies are warning of increased cravings in the months ahead.

"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to reduce drought in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia,” stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.

"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased local food rates are expected, which will lower poor homes’ access to food.“

In Kitui’s Kyuso location, the indications are currently apparent.

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

Villagers complain of travelling longer ranges - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans looking for water.

Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, discuss plans to sell their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui’s farmers are fretted.

A little however growing number are shedding their concern of dependence on the weather - and investing in watering systems powered by Zaynagro’s cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan released more than three years back.

Neighbouring farmers unite to purchase the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses starting from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments until the overall is settled. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump allowed him to irrigate a bigger part 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,” stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers indicate the plan as a major advantage in helping enhance their output.

"The instalment scheme is great. Most farmers don’t have the cash and can not quickly get a loan to purchase a pump like this,” stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.

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

Zaynagro’s effort is still in its early phases, with few farmers having repaid the complete cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel plans are promising due to the fact that they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for revenue, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go plan - might help energize rural Africa, he said.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices in the world. The key problem is evaluating concepts and methods in a collective style,” said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region need to attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks ought to start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers 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, females’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)