Mission Biofuels India Private Ltd

Overview

  • Founded Date October 23, 2009
  • Sectors Nursing
  • Posted Jobs 0
  • Viewed 11
Bottom Promo

Company Description

Cotton Waste Biofuel Powers Farmers to Fight Drought In Kenya

By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was informed he might water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and effectively using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

“Who could believe it’s possible to make a fuel better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn’t!” chuckled Mathoka, crouching down to inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya’s southeast Kitui county.

“But it works,” he stated, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. “Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get higher yields, especially during drought periods.”

Mathoka said his revenues had doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.

The biodiesel he is utilizing is not simply good news for him – it is likewise great news for the world.

Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha, it is made from a by-product of the cotton-making process.

That indicates that along with being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no additional land is needed to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel – worsening food lacks.

“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, handling 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 use it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run some of their buses – and also to regional farmers for watering.”

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now bought biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative released by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively erratic weather is ending up being commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rainfall.

The recurring are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals – pressing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of extreme hunger.

The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March surged by nearly 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, mainly due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

With nearly half Kenya’s 47 counties stated to have a serious scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased appetite in the months ahead.

“Only light rains is forecast through June … and this is not expected to relieve dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia,” stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.

“Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased regional food prices are expected, which will minimize poor families’ access to food.”

In Kitui’s Kyuso location, the signs are already evident.

Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the extended drought.

Villagers suffer travelling longer ranges – in some cases more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans looking for water.

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

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui’s farmers are stressed.

A small but growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather – and buying irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro’s cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan released more than three years ago.

Neighbouring farmers unite to buy the irrigation system – which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel – at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary 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.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump enabled 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.

“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 town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers indicate the scheme as a major benefit in assisting enhance their output.

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

“Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are good which suggests we can pay off the expense of the pump gradually in small quantities, and have cash left over to pay the school fees.”

Zaynagro’s effort is still in its early stages, with couple of farmers having paid back the full expense of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are appealing because they develop a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the design – user friendly, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme – could help electrify rural Africa, he said.

“There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The essential issue is testing concepts and techniques in a collaborative fashion,” said Sanyal.

“Other cotton ginning factories in the region need to try and learn from this experiment. Banks should start try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors 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, ladies’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)

Bottom Promo
Bottom Promo
Top Promo