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 could water his drought-hit crops more cheaply, easily and efficiently using 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!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to examine the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri town in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.

"But it works," he stated, walking over to a close-by tree and plucking a big green pawpaw. "Irrigation with this biodiesel water pump has assisted me get higher yields, specifically throughout drought durations."

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

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

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

That indicates that along with being cleaner and less expensive than regular fuel, it is more sustainable than other biofuels since no extra land is required to produce it.

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

"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 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, sell it to the United Nations to run a few of their buses - and likewise to local farmers for irrigation."

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

DRY RIVER BEDS

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

The repeating droughts are destroying crops and pastures and are starving animals - pressing millions of individuals in the Horn of Africa to the edge of severe cravings.

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

With almost half Kenya's 47 counties stated to have a severe lack of rain, humanitarian agencies are warning of increased hunger in the months ahead.

"Only light rains is forecast through June ... and this is not expected to relieve drought in impacted areas 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 regional food costs are expected, which will lower poor households' access to food."

In Kitui's Kyuso area, the signs are already obvious.

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

Villagers suffer travelling longer distances - sometimes more than 10 km (6 miles) with their donkeys loaded with empty jerry cans in search of water.

Small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are reliant on rain-fed agriculture, talk about strategies to offer their goats to make ends satisfy if the harvest is poor.

BATTLING DROUGHT WITH BIODIESEL

But not all Kitui's farmers are fretted.

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

Neighbouring farmers unite to buy the irrigation system - that 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 a preliminary payment, then pay interest-free regular monthly instalments up until the overall 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 permitted him to water a larger 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 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 major benefit in helping 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 scheme like this assists us a lot. Our yields are good which suggests we can settle the expense of the pump slowly in small amounts, and have cash left over to pay the school costs."

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

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

The simpleness of the design - easy-to-use, robust technology, guaranteed supply of biodiesel combined with a pay-as-you-go scheme - could assist amaze rural Africa, he said.

"There is a mosaic of sustainable energy options worldwide. The crucial problem is checking concepts and approaches in a collaborative style," stated Sanyal.

"Other cotton ginning factories in the area must try and gain from this experiment. Banks need to begin try out loans to groups of farmers. International donors and financiers 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, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, residential or commercial property rights and climate modification. Visit http://news.trust.org)