Over 8000 tree seedlings have been planted at Pwani University and its environs in a massive drive to restore the degraded environment caused by destruction of trees before its establishment.
The planting exercise which is jointly coordinated by Kenya Forest Services (KFS), Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI) and the Navy department in Kenya Defense Forces resulted to the planting of 8,300 seedlings while members of the public who participated in the exercise were given 10 seedling each to go and plant in their farms.
Speaking Friday during the tree planting launch, KEFRI Board of Directors Chairman Dr. Sammy Letema said the national government in partnership with county governments and other development partners’ will be planting 5 million trees annually in every County from next year.
He said by the end of this year, all counties will be expected to have planted one million tree seedlings each and challenged those that have not met the target to speed up the exercise saying by the end of the year, each county will be expected to give a record of its achievement.
Dr. Letema emphasized the need for every county to achieve the forest cover of 7% by the year 2030 revealing that most counties are still way below the target.
He told members of the public to set aside part of their land for planting fast maturing tree seedlings from KEFRI so that they could harvest their trees for sale, within a period of 3 years to improve their general living standards.
“We are no longer planting trees for the sake of conserving the environment only, as it has been established by KEFRI that some trees can be grown for commercial use to generate income for farmers. Certified tree seedlings like the Kashurina can earn income for farmers as they mature within 3 years,” he said.
By Harrison Yeri
