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 cheaply, cleanly and effectively utilizing a pump fuelled 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, crouching 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 said, walking over to a neighboring tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, specifically during dry spell periods."

Mathoka stated his earnings had actually doubled in the 2 years he has been pumping water using biodiesel, which is both more efficient and 20 shillings ($0.20) per litre less expensive than routine diesel.

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

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

That means 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 rewarding crops-for-fuel - intensifying food scarcities.

"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, managing 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 utilize 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 initiative launched by Zaynagro in 2015, said Zavery.

DRY RIVER BEDS

Climate modification is taking a toll throughout east Africa and significantly unpredictable weather condition is becoming commonplace in nations such as Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia, resulting in lower rains.

The repeating droughts are ruining crops and pastures and are starving animals - pushing countless individuals in the Horn of Africa to the brink of severe appetite.

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

With practically half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a serious lack of rain, humanitarian companies are warning of increased cravings in the months ahead.

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

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

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

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

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

Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom depend on rain-fed farming, talk about plans to sell their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is poor.

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 purchasing irrigation systems powered by Zaynagro's cotton seed biodiesel through a pay-as-you-go plan introduced more than three years earlier.

Neighbouring farmers band together to purchase the irrigation system - which includes the biodiesel pump, 12 metres of pipelines and 10 litres of biodiesel - at expenses beginning with 32,000 shillings, depending upon the size of the pump.

The farmers make a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free monthly instalments up until the overall is settled. They buy 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 water a larger part 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 3 months. With the biodiesel pump, I can earn 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 plan as a major advantage in assisting enhance their output.

"The instalment plan is great. Most farmers do not 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 scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are good which means we can pay off the cost of the pump slowly in little quantities, and have cash left over to pay the school fees."

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

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

The simplicity of the design - easy-to-use, robust innovation, ensured supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go plan - might help amaze rural Africa, he stated.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy choices on the planet. The essential concern is evaluating ideas and approaches in a collaborative style," stated Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the region should attempt and gain from this experiment. Banks need to start exploring 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, home rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)