By Nita Bhalla

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

"Who could believe it's possible to make a fuel 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 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 assisted me get higher yields, specifically during drought periods."

Mathoka said 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 routine diesel.

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

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

That implies that in addition to being cleaner and cheaper than routine fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels due to the fact that no extra land is required 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 lucrative crops-for-fuel - worsening food lacks.

"Our biodiesel originates from squashing cotton seeds left over as waste after ginning - the process of separating the seeds from raw cotton," stated Taher Zavery, handling 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 some of their buses - and likewise to regional farmers for irrigation."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll across east Africa and increasingly erratic weather condition is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, leading to lower rains.

The recurring dry spells are damaging crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless people in the Horn of Africa to the edge of extreme cravings.

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

With nearly half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious shortage of rain, humanitarian firms are alerting of increased cravings in the months ahead.

"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to minimize drought 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 rates are anticipated, which will lower poor families' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso location, the signs are currently apparent.

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

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

Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are dependent on rain-fed farming, discuss plans to offer 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 but growing number are shedding their problem of dependence on the weather - and buying watering systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go scheme introduced more than three years ago.

Neighbouring farmers band together to buy the watering system - which consists of the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at costs beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending on the size of the pump.

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

Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka, 39, stated the biodiesel pump permitted him to water a bigger part of his one-acre plot, where he grows a variety 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 earn 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 indicate the scheme as a significant benefit in assisting improve their output.

"The instalment plan is good. Most farmers do not have the money 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 assists us a lot. Our yields are good which implies we can pay off the cost of the pump gradually in percentages, and have cash left over to pay the school fees."

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

But such biofuel plans are promising due to the fact that they produce a circular economy by turning waste to biofuel for profit, said Sanjoy Sanyal, senior associate for Clean Energy Finance at the World Resources Institute.

The simpleness of the design - user friendly, robust technology, guaranteed supply of biodiesel integrated with a pay-as-you-go scheme - might assist energize rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy alternatives on the planet. The key issue is checking ideas and techniques in a collaborative fashion," stated Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region ought to try and discover from this experiment. Financial organizations must 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 change. Visit http://news.trust.org)