By Nita Bhalla

KITUI, Kenya, June 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka believed it needs to be a joke when he was told he might water his drought-hit crops more inexpensively, easily and efficiently utilizing a pump sustained 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 close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, particularly during drought durations."

Mathoka stated his revenues 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 more affordable than regular diesel.

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

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

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

From Brazil to Indonesia, the rush to cultivate biofuel crops has driven forest neighborhoods off their land and pressed farmers to switch from crops-for-food to more profitable crops-for-fuel - intensifying food scarcities.

"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, handling director of Zaynagro Industries Ltd, the Kitui-based business 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 also to regional farmers for watering."

More than 1,200 farmers in Kitui have actually so far invested in biodiesel pumps for watering as part of an effort launched by Zaynagro in 2015, stated Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate change is taking a toll across east Africa and increasingly irregular weather is becoming commonplace in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rainfall.

The repeating droughts are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of extreme appetite.

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

With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe scarcity of rain, humanitarian companies are alerting of increased appetite in the months ahead.

"Only light rains is anticipated through June ... and this is not expected to alleviate dry spell in impacted areas of Kenya and Somalia," stated the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in its latest report.

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

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

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

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

Small-scale farmers, many of whom are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, talk about 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 stressed.

A little but growing number are shedding their burden of dependence on the weather - and purchasing irrigation powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan released more than 3 years back.

Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the watering system - that includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses 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 overall is settled. They purchase the biodiesel to run the pumps from Zaynagro at 80 shillings a litre.

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, said the biodiesel pump permitted him to irrigate a bigger portion of his one-acre plot, where he grows a range of veggies 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 town, 40 km (25 miles) from Kitui town.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Other farmers point to the plan as a major advantage in assisting enhance their output.

"The instalment scheme is good. Most farmers do not have the money 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 great which suggests we can settle the cost of the pump slowly in small amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school charges."

Zaynagro's initiative is still in its early phases, with few farmers having paid back the complete expense of the pumps.

But such biofuel plans are appealing because they create a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for earnings, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

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

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options in the world. The crucial problem is checking ideas and techniques in a collaborative style," said Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must try and learn from this experiment. Financial institutions need to 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 climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)