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 informed he might irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and effectively utilizing a pump sustained by cotton waste.

"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 check the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.

"But it works," he stated, walking over to a close-by tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually assisted me get higher yields, specifically during drought durations."

Mathoka stated his earnings had actually doubled in the two years he has been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more effective and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre cheaper than regular diesel.

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

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

That implies that along with being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra 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 pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food shortages.

"Our biodiesel originates from squashing 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 utilizing 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 a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and progressively unpredictable weather is ending up being commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.

The recurring dry spells are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing millions of people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe appetite.

The number of Kenyans in need of food help in March surged by almost 70 percent over a duration of 8 months to 1.1 million, largely due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a major lack of rain, humanitarian agencies are alerting of increased hunger in the months ahead.

"Only light rainfall is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to reduce drought in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.

"Well below-average crop production, bad animals body conditions, and increased local food prices are expected, which will decrease bad homes' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso area, the indications are currently evident.

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

Villagers grumble of trekking longer ranges - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys laden with empty jerry cans looking for water.

Small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on rain-fed farming, go over strategies to sell their goats to make ends fulfill if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.

A little but growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme released more than three years earlier.

Neighbouring farmers unite to invest in the irrigation system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning from 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.

The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments until the overall is paid off. They purchase 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 a bigger 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 3 months. With the biodiesel 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.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers indicate the scheme as a significant benefit in helping improve their output.

"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers do not have the cash and can not easily get a loan to buy a pump like this," said 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 good which suggests we can pay off the expense of the pump gradually in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."

Zaynagro's effort is still in its early stages, with few farmers having repaid the full cost of the pumps.

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

The simplicity of the design - easy-to-use, robust technology, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - might assist electrify rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives on the planet. The key concern is checking concepts and approaches in a collaborative fashion," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region should attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks ought to begin try out 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, females's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)