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<br>By Nita Bhalla<br>
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<br>KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer [Abel Mutie](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) Mathoka believed it must be a joke when he was told he could irrigate his more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.<br>
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<br>"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" chuckled Mathoka, bending down to inspect the [watermelons](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.<br>
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<br>"But it works," he stated, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, particularly during drought periods."<br>
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<br>[Mathoka](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) stated his earnings had doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water using [biodiesel](https://www.zoominfo.com/c/mission-newenergy/346542889), which is both more effective and 20 [shillings](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) ($0.20) per litre more affordable than regular diesel.<br>
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<br>The biodiesel he is utilizing is not just great news for him - it is also good news for the planet.<br>
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<br>Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are derived from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and [jatropha](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html), it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making process.<br>
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<br>That indicates that in addition to being cleaner and more affordable than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is needed to produce it.<br>
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<br>From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate [biofuel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pushed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food lacks.<br>
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<br>"Our biodiesel originates from crushing 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 company producing the biodiesel.<br>
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<br>"We began 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 local farmers for irrigation."<br>
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<br>More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far invested in [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) pumps for watering as part of an initiative introduced by [Zaynagro](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) in 2015, stated Zavery.<br>
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<br>DRY RIVER BEDS<br>
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<br>Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather condition is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.<br>
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<br>The repeating droughts are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless [individuals](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe appetite.<br>
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<br>The variety of Kenyans in requirement of food aid in March rose by almost 70 percent over a period of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to government figures.<br>
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<br>With almost half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a serious lack of rain, [humanitarian companies](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) are warning of increased appetite in the months ahead.<br>
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<br>"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to ease dry spell in affected areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.<br>
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<br>"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food costs are prepared for, which will lower poor households' access to food."<br>
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<br>In Kitui's Kyuso location, the indications are currently apparent.<br>
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<br>Rivers, [water pans](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) and dams are drying up as an outcome of the prolonged drought.<br>
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<br>Villagers experience trekking longer distances - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans in search of water.<br>
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<br>Small-scale farmers, most of whom are reliant on rain-fed farming, talk about strategies to offer their goats to make ends meet if the harvest is poor.<br>
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<br>BATTLING DROUGHT WITH [BIODIESEL](https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/ASX:MBT/Mission-NewEnergy-Ltd)<br>
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<br>But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.<br>
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<br>A little but growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather - and [investing](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) in irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched more than 3 years ago.<br>
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<br>Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.<br>
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<br>The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the total 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](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) Babu Kitheka, 39, said the [biodiesel](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) pump enabled him to irrigate a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety of veggies consisting of 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 earn 45,000 shillings," said Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.<br>
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<br>CIRCULAR ECONOMY<br>
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<br>Other farmers point to the plan as a major advantage in assisting enhance their output.<br>
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<br>"The instalment plan is great. Most farmers do not have the cash 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.<br>
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<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 money left over to pay the school costs."<br>
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<br>Zaynagro's effort is still in its early phases, with couple of farmers having actually paid back the complete cost of the pumps.<br>
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<br>But such [biofuel](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) schemes are appealing due to the fact that they produce a circular economy by turning waste to [biofuel](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) for earnings, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for [Clean Energy](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) Finance at the World Resources Institute.<br>
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<br>The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust innovation, ensured supply of [biodiesel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - could assist amaze rural Africa, he said.<br>
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<br>"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The crucial problem is testing concepts and approaches in a collaborative fashion," said Sanyal.<br>
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<br>"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks should start explore loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors require 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](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) news, ladies's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)<br>
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