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 <br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
 <br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was informed he might water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and effectively using a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br>
 <br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, bending 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, strolling over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get higher yields, particularly during drought durations."<br>
 <br> stated his profits had actually doubled in the two years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.<br>
 <br>The [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) he is using is not simply excellent news for him - it is also great news for the world.<br>
 <br>Unlike most biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb), it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
 <br>That suggests that in addition to being cleaner and cheaper than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
 <br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) crops has actually driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food scarcities.<br>
 <br>"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 producing the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053).<br>
 <br>"We started producing and using it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now use it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for watering."<br>
 <br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have so far bought biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
 <br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
 <br>Climate [modification](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) is taking a toll throughout east Africa and increasingly unpredictable weather condition is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.<br>
 <br>The [recurring dry](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing [millions](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) of people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of severe hunger.<br>
 <br>The number of [Kenyans](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) in requirement of food help in March rose by practically 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to poor rains, according to [government figures](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL).<br>
 <br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a serious scarcity of rain, humanitarian firms are warning of [increased appetite](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) in the months ahead.<br>
 <br>"Only light rains is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to alleviate drought in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.<br>
 <br>"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased regional food prices are prepared for, which will minimize poor families' access to food."<br>
 <br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are already apparent.<br>
 <br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged dry spell.<br>
 <br>Villagers experience trekking longer ranges - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
 <br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture, discuss plans to sell their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.<br>
 <br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053)<br>
 <br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
 <br>A little but growing number are shedding their concern of reliance on the weather condition - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) through a pay-as-you-go plan launched more than three years earlier.<br>
 <br>Neighbouring farmers unite to purchase the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, [depending](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) on the size of the pump.<br>
 <br>The [farmers](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments till the overall is settled. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
 <br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](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) pump allowed him to water a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies 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 pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
 <br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
 <br>Other farmers indicate the plan as a major advantage in helping improve their output.<br>
 <br>"The instalment scheme is excellent. Most farmers do not have the money and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.<br>
 <br>"Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are great which implies we can pay off the expense of the pump slowly in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."<br>
 <br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having actually paid back the complete expense of the pumps.<br>
 <br>But such [biofuel](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) schemes are appealing because they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) for revenue, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
 <br>The simplicity of the model - easy-to-use, robust innovation, assured supply of [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could help electrify rural Africa, he stated.<br>
 <br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The essential concern is evaluating ideas and methods in a collective fashion," said Sanyal.<br>
 <br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area should try and gain from this experiment. Banks should start try out 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](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile). Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of [Thomson](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) Reuters, that [covers humanitarian](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>