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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 informed he might water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and efficiently using a pump sustained by cotton waste.

"Who could think it's possible to make a fuel much better than diesel from cotton seeds? I didn't!" laughed 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 stated, strolling over to a neighboring tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, specifically throughout dry spell durations."

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

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

Unlike most biofuels, which are stemmed 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 extra land is needed to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to change from crops-for-food to more successful crops-for-fuel - exacerbating food shortages.

"Our biodiesel originates from crushing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," said Taher Zavery, handling 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 use it for our trucks, offer it to the United Nations to run some of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll throughout east Africa and significantly irregular weather is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.

The repeating dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe appetite.

The number of Kenyans in requirement of food help in March surged by practically 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, mainly due to poor rains, according to federal government figures.

With practically half Kenya's 47 counties declared to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian companies are cautioning of increased hunger in the months ahead.

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

"Well below-average crop production, bad livestock body conditions, and increased local food costs are anticipated, which will minimize poor families' access to food."

In area, the signs are currently apparent.

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

Villagers complain of trekking longer distances - often more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys packed with empty jerry cans in search of water.

Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are reliant on rain-fed agriculture, go over strategies to sell their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is bad.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are worried.

A small but growing number are shedding their problem of reliance on the weather condition - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than 3 years ago.

Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - which 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.

The farmers make an initial payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments till the total is paid off. 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 irrigate a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies including 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," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo village, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

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

"The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers don't have the cash and can not easily get a loan to purchase a pump like this," stated Maurice Kitheka Munyoki, 41, as he stood next to his blue biodiesel pump.

"Having a plan like this assists us a lot. Our yields are good which means we can settle the cost of the pump slowly in percentages, and have money left over to pay the school charges."

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

But such biofuel schemes are appealing because they produce 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 simplicity of the model - user friendly, robust innovation, assured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might assist amaze rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives in the world. The crucial issue is evaluating concepts and methods in a collaborative fashion," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region must try and gain from this experiment. Financial institutions must start explore 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, residential or commercial property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)