commit 820a687aa04e4c78ce778c084039d3f34160081f Author: moshemartz809 Date: Sat Jan 11 01:09:23 2025 +0100 Add Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Combat Drought In Kenya diff --git a/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..86f423a --- /dev/null +++ b/Cotton-Waste-Biofuel-Powers-Farmers-to-Combat-Drought-In-Kenya.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +
By Nita Bhalla
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KITUI, Kenya, June 6 ([Thomson Reuters](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was [informed](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, cleanly and effectively utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.
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"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, [bending](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) down to check 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 a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) water pump has assisted me get higher yields, specifically during drought durations."
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Mathoka stated his revenues had doubled in the two years he has been pumping water utilizing [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053), which is both more [efficient](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less [expensive](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) than routine diesel.
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The biodiesel he is utilizing is not just excellent news for him - it is also excellent news for the world.
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Unlike most biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making process.
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That means that as well as being cleaner and less expensive than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no additional land is required to produce it.
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From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - intensifying food scarcities.
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"Our biodiesel comes from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," [stated Taher](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html).
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"We started producing and using it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for watering."
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More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far invested in [biodiesel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) 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 erratic weather 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 destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe cravings.
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The number of Kenyans in need of food help in March surged by almost 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to government figures.
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With almost half Kenya's 47 [counties](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) declared to have a serious lack of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased cravings in the months ahead.
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"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to reduce 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 livestock body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will lower poor households' 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 an [outcome](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) of the extended dry spell.
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Villagers suffer travelling longer ranges - often 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 are dependent on rain-fed farming, go over plans to sell their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.
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BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL
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But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.
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A small however growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather condition - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years earlier.
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Neighbouring farmers unite to buy the irrigation system - which includes the [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of [biodiesel -](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) at expenses 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 till the total is settled. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.
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Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) pump enabled him to water a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies including maize, tomatoes, spinach and .
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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](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 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 significant benefit in helping improve their output.
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"The instalment scheme is great. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.
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"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which means we can settle the expense of the pump gradually in small quantities, and have money left over to pay the school costs."
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Zaynagro's effort is still in its early phases, with few farmers having actually paid back the complete cost of the pumps.
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But such [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) schemes are [promising](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) due to the fact that they produce a circular economy by turning waste to [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) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.
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The simpleness of the design - easy-to-use, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - could assist amaze rural Africa, he stated.
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"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives on the planet. The essential issue is checking concepts and approaches in a collaborative style," stated Sanyal.
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"Other cotton ginning factories in the region ought to try and gain from this experiment. Banks should start experimenting with 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 and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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