The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has partnered with education institutions in an afforestation campaign that will see some 500,000 fruit seedlings planted within a year.
NDMA Chairman of the Technical Committee, Koome Kiragu, says schools and tertiary institutions are targeted in this campaign supported by the European Union, which will see some 10 primary and secondary schools from semi-arid areas receive twenty 10,000-litre water tanks to support rainwater harvesting.
Koome, who was accompanied by NDMA CEO, Lt Col (Rtd) Hared Adan, spoke at Nkando Primary School, where some 5,000 mango tree seedlings are set to be planted in some 62 schools in Laikipia County, during the current rainy season.
“We have decided to grow fruit trees for the benefit of our schools in terms of nutrient uptake among learners and also as a way of generating income. It’s now the responsibility of the schools to take care of the trees until maturity,” said Kiragu.
Adan revealed that NDMA has a target of planting five million trees, including fruit trees, by 2032, in order to implement the presidential directive of planting 15 billion trees in ten years.
“We have come up with an initiative to partner with institutions, including schools, to inculcate the culture of protecting the environment among young people. This will also ensure that by the time children are completing grade nine, they will have reaped the benefits of the fruit trees,” said Lt Col (RTD) Adan.
He said NDMA officials would be monitoring the seedlings after every three months to ensure their survival, citing this as the main reason why they have also distributed the water tanks for rainwater harvesting.
“If each household is able to harvest water that will support domestic usage and also grow trees, we encourage each family to plant at least five trees aimed at protecting our environment,” he said.
Beatrice Wachira, from the office of Laikipia County Director of Education, said that school heads have been directed to ensure the survival of the seedlings.
She said the fruit trees would improve nutrition uptake for the learners besides generating income for the targeted institutions.
By Muturi Mwangi
