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By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it needs to be a joke when he was told he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, cleanly and effectively utilizing a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

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

"But it works," he said, strolling over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has helped me get higher yields, especially throughout dry spell periods."

Mathoka stated his incomes had actually doubled in the two years he has been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than regular diesel.

The biodiesel he is using is not simply excellent news for him - it is likewise good news for the planet.

Unlike a lot of biofuels, which are originated from crops such as maize, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed and jatropha curcas, it is made from a byproduct of the cotton-making procedure.

That means that as well as being cleaner and more affordable than regular 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 actually driven forest communities off their land and pushed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - worsening food lacks.

"Our biodiesel comes from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the procedure of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, managing director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based company producing the biodiesel.

"We started producing and using it to power our cotton ginning factory in 2011. With increased production, we now utilize it for our trucks, sell it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for irrigation."

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually up until now invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and significantly irregular weather condition is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.

The recurring droughts are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the verge of extreme appetite.

The number of in need of food help in March surged by practically 70 percent over a period of eight months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

With almost half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a severe shortage of rain, humanitarian agencies are cautioning of increased cravings in the months ahead.

"Only light rains is anticipated through June ... and this is not anticipated to minimize drought in impacted locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its most current report.

"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased regional food costs are anticipated, which will lower poor homes' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are already apparent.

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

Villagers suffer trekking longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans searching for water.

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 bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.

A small but growing number are shedding their burden of reliance on the weather condition - and buying irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme launched more than 3 years earlier.

Neighbouring farmers unite to purchase the irrigation system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipes and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses starting from 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments till the overall is paid off. They buy the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump allowed him to irrigate a larger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of vegetables consisting of maize, tomatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.

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

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers point to the scheme as a significant benefit in assisting enhance their output.

"The instalment plan is good. 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 pump.

"Having a plan like this helps us a lot. Our yields are great which implies we can pay off the cost of the pump slowly in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school fees."

Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with few farmers having actually paid back the complete cost of the pumps.

But such biofuel schemes are appealing due to the fact that they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for revenue, stated Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the model - easy-to-use, robust technology, guaranteed supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might assist electrify rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives worldwide. The essential issue is testing ideas and approaches in a collective style," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region should attempt and find out from this experiment. Financial institutions need to begin experimenting with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and investors require 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, home rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)