Cotton waste biofuel powers farmers to fight drought in Kenya
Farmer Alex Babu Kitheka irrigates his maize crops using a cotton seed biodiesel pump in Kenya's Kitui county on May 13, 2019. PHOTO | THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION
Kenyan farmer Abel Mutie Mathoka thought it must be a joke when he was told he could irrigate his drought-hit crops more cheaply, cleanly and efficiently 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!" laughed Mathoka, crouching down to inspect the watermelons on his 10-acre (four-hectare) shared plot in Ituri village in Kenya's southeast Kitui county.
