From 3d3ff38c63840adb9babd91e3546493b587d307d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Zulma Truitt Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2025 18:14:30 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya --- ...owers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md | 40 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Fight-Drought-In-Kenya.md 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..9a3d1a1 --- /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 believed it should be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his more inexpensively, easily 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!" chuckled Mathoka, bending down to check the [watermelons](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) 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, walking over to a close-by tree and [plucking](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, specifically throughout drought durations."
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Mathoka stated his revenues 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 routine diesel.
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The [biodiesel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) he is using is not simply great news for him - it is also good news for the world.
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Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.
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That implies that along with being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no [extra land](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) is required to produce it.
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From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](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) crops has actually driven forest neighborhoods off their land and [pushed farmers](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) to switch from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - worsening food lacks.
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"Our biodiesel originates from crushing 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](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy).
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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, offer it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and also to local farmers for watering."
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More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far purchased biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative released by Zaynagro in 2015, stated 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 nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to [lower rainfall](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US).
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The repeating dry spells are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme hunger.
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The variety of Kenyans in need of food help in March surged by nearly 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.
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With almost half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a serious scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of [increased hunger](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) in the months ahead.
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"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to relieve drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.
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"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food costs are expected, which will minimize poor families' access to food."
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In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently [apparent](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html).
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Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an [outcome](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) of the extended drought.
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Villagers experience trekking longer distances - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans looking for water.
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Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, talk about plans to sell their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.
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[BATTLING DROUGHT](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) WITH BIODIESEL
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But not all Kitui's farmers are [worried](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048).
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A little however growing number are shedding their burden of reliance on the weather condition - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme introduced more than 3 years earlier.
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Neighbouring farmers unite to purchase the [irrigation](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) system - that includes the [biodiesel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.
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The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments up until the total is settled. They buy the biodiesel 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 him to water a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies 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 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can earn 45,000 shillings," stated 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 indicate the plan as a significant benefit in [assisting enhance](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) their output.
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"The instalment scheme is excellent. Most farmers don't have the money and can not quickly get a loan to buy a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.
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"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are excellent which indicates we can pay off the expense of the pump gradually in little quantities, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."
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Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having paid back the full expense of the pumps.
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But such [biofuel](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) schemes are appealing since they develop a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for revenue, said 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 innovation, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could help [amaze rural](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) Africa, he stated.
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"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The crucial concern is testing concepts and approaches in a collaborative fashion," [stated Sanyal](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile).
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"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must try and find out from this experiment. Banks should begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors require to support experimentation."
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($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, [ladies's](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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