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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br> |
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<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - [Kenyan farmer](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it should be a joke when he was informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, cleanly and effectively using a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br> |
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<br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br> |
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<br>"But it works," he said, strolling over to a [neighboring tree](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get greater yields, especially throughout dry spell periods."<br> |
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<br>Mathoka stated his profits had doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 [shillings](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd) ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.<br> |
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<br>The biodiesel he is using is not just good news for him - it is also good news for the planet.<br> |
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<br>Unlike most biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br> |
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<br>That suggests that in addition to being cleaner and more affordable than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no extra land is required to [produce](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) it.<br> |
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) crops has driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - worsening food lacks.<br> |
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<br>"Our biodiesel originates from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the [Kitui-based business](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) producing the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053).<br> |
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<br>"We started producing and utilizing 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 regional farmers for irrigation."<br> |
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now [invested](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) in biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an effort introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.<br> |
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<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br> |
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<br>Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively irregular weather is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.<br> |
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<br>The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe cravings.<br> |
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<br>The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March rose by [practically](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to [federal government](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) figures.<br> |
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<br>With practically half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a severe shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased cravings in the months ahead.<br> |
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<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to ease drought in impacted locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.<br> |
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food prices are prepared for, which will decrease poor homes' access to food."<br> |
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are currently obvious.<br> |
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<br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended dry spell.<br> |
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<br>Villagers experience trekking longer distances - in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br> |
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<br>Small-scale farmers, many of whom are dependent on [rain-fed](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) agriculture, talk about plans to offer their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.<br> |
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br> |
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are stressed.<br> |
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<br>A little however growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather condition - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a [pay-as-you-go](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) scheme released more than three years ago.<br> |
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<br>Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the irrigation system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.<br> |
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<br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments till the overall is settled. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br> |
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<br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) pump permitted him to irrigate a larger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies including maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.<br> |
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<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," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from [Kitui town](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).<br> |
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<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br> |
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<br>Other farmers indicate the scheme as a significant benefit in [helping improve](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) their output.<br> |
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<br>"The instalment scheme is excellent. Most farmers don't have the money and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," said Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood beside his blue biodiesel pump.<br> |
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<br>"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are great which implies we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in small quantities, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."<br> |
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<br>Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with few farmers having repaid the complete expense of the pumps.<br> |
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) plans are promising due to the fact that they develop a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) for revenue, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br> |
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<br>The simpleness of the design - easy-to-use, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might [assist amaze](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) rural Africa, he said.<br> |
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices worldwide. The essential issue is evaluating concepts and approaches in a collaborative fashion," [stated Sanyal](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86).<br> |
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area ought to attempt and learn from this experiment. Banks need to begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."<br> |
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<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, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and climate change. Visit http://[news.trust](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/).org)<br> |
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