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, easily and effectively using a pump fuelled by cotton waste.

"Who could think 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 on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.

"But it works," he said, walking over to a nearby tree and plucking a large green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has actually helped me get greater yields, particularly during drought periods."

Mathoka stated his profits had actually doubled in the 2 years he has actually been pumping water utilizing biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre more affordable than regular diesel.

The biodiesel he is utilizing is not just good news for him - it is also excellent news for the world.

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 process.

That implies that along with being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels because no extra land is required to produce it.

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest communities off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more lucrative crops-for-fuel - worsening food shortages.

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

"We began 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 a few of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for watering."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

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

The recurring dry spells are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of 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 almost 70 percent over a duration of eight months to 1.1 million, mostly due to bad rains, according to federal government figures.

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

"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not anticipated to ease dry spell in affected locations of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its newest report.

"Well below-average crop production, poor animals body conditions, and increased local food costs are prepared for, which will lower bad families' access to food."

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

Rivers, water pans and dams are drying up as an outcome of the extended drought.

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

Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are reliant on rain-fed agriculture, talk about 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 fretted.

A little however growing number are shedding their concern of dependence on the weather - and purchasing watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than three years back.

Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the watering 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 payment, then pay interest-free month-to-month instalments up 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 enabled him to water a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety 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 three months. With the biodiesel pump, I can make 45,000 shillings," stated Alex Babu Kitheka, standing near his plot in Ilangilo town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers indicate the plan as a significant advantage in helping enhance their output.

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

"Having a scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are good which indicates 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 paid back the complete expense of the pumps.

But such biofuel plans are promising since they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior partner for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simplicity of the design - user friendly, robust technology, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - might help energize rural Africa, he said.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The key concern is evaluating ideas and methods in a collaborative fashion," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region ought to attempt and discover from this experiment. Banks should start experimenting with loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers need 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, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and environment modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)