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 <br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
 <br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel [Mutie Mathoka](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) thought it should be a joke when he was informed he might water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently using a pump fuelled 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 [inspect](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town 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, specifically during drought durations."<br>
 <br>Mathoka said his profits had doubled in the two years he has actually been [pumping water](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) [utilizing](https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/ipos/overview?dealId=804419-65608) biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than regular diesel.<br>
 <br>The [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) he is utilizing is not just great news for him - it is also good news for the world.<br>
 <br>Unlike the majority of biofuels, which are stemmed from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha curcas](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.<br>
 <br>That means that along with being cleaner and less expensive than routine 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.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) crops has driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.<br>
 <br>"Our [biodiesel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.<br>
 <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 a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."<br>
 <br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far bought biodiesel pumps for irrigation as part of an initiative introduced by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.<br>
 <br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
 <br>Climate change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and progressively erratic weather is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.<br>
 <br>The [repeating droughts](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of severe cravings.<br>
 <br>The number of Kenyans in need of food help in March rose by nearly 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.<br>
 <br>With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a severe lack of rain, humanitarian companies are [alerting](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
 <br>"Only light rainfall is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to alleviate drought in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.<br>
 <br>"Well below-average crop production, poor livestock body conditions, and increased local food rates are prepared for, which will lower bad homes' access to food."<br>
 <br>In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are already evident.<br>
 <br>Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as a result of the prolonged dry spell.<br>
 <br>Villagers experience travelling longer distances - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans looking for water.<br>
 <br>Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, go over [strategies](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) to sell their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is poor.<br>
 <br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL<br>
 <br>But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.<br>
 <br>A small but growing number are shedding their burden of reliance on the weather - and purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than 3 years earlier.<br>
 <br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of [biodiesel](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
 <br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free [regular monthly](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) instalments up until the overall is paid off. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.<br>
 <br>Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump allowed him to water a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a [variety](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) of [veggies consisting](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) 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 3 months. With the [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
 <br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
 <br>Other farmers point to the plan as a major benefit in helping improve their output.<br>
 <br>"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," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889) pump.<br>
 <br>"Having a scheme like this helps us a lot. Our yields are excellent which indicates we can pay off the cost of the pump gradually in small amounts, and have money left over to pay the school charges."<br>
 <br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early phases, with few farmers having repaid the full expense of the pumps.<br>
 <br>But such [biofuel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) schemes are appealing because they create a [circular economy](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) by turning waste to [biofuel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) for profit, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
 <br>The simpleness of the model - user friendly, robust technology, assured supply of [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) combined with a  - might assist energize rural Africa, he said.<br>
 <br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives on the planet. The essential concern is testing concepts and approaches in a collective style," said Sanyal.<br>
 <br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area should try and learn from this experiment. Financial institutions ought to begin explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need to support experimentation."<br>
 <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, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, home rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>