President William Ruto on Friday led a nationwide tree-planting campaign in Kiambicho Forest in Maragùa, Mùrang’a County.
Ruto said the day was set aside by the Cabinet in honour of those who lost their lives as a result of the floods that have ravaged various parts of the country.
Planting and growing trees, he pointed out, is also the solution that will mitigate the effects of climate change, which include devastating droughts and destructive floods.
The government, he explained, set a target for Kenyans to plant 200 million trees across the country.
Speaking at Karua grounds in Maragua after planting trees, the President announced that the exercise will continue for the next six months beginning on Monday, adding that Cabinet Secretaries would be at the forefront.
Every ministry, he said, will have a day in which staff of various departments and agencies will plant trees in the specific areas they have been assigned.
“Planting of trees will continue each day beginning next Monday with each ministry participating and so that we have a collective effort in conserving and restoring the environment,” Ruto said.
On Monday, he announced, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi will lead the tree-planting exercise.
This will be followed by all the other ministries until the government achieves the target of 15 billion trees by 2032.
He regretted that the country has been hit by droughts in the recent past and now floods have wreaked havoc across the country.
He said the government was keen in increasing the country’s forest cover from 12 per cent to 30 per cent.
“Climate change is a reality we live with every day. This is why we stopped all other business today to plant trees,” the President said. “We must look for a solution to climate change, and the solution is planting and growing trees.”
He emphasised the need for every Kenyan to plant at least 50 trees, especially fruit species.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya said her ministry will buy seedlings from the residents.
Governor Irungu Kang’ata said his administration will buy mango seedlings from local farmers in an effort to increase horticultural production in the area.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro commended the initiatives the government is implementing to revive the economy, saying they were yielding fruits.
At the Kiambicho Forest Station, President Ruto, First Lady Rachel Ruto, leaders and residents planted 20,000 trees in a 16-hectare piece of land.
Elsewhere, in observing the day which was in remembrance of Kenyans lost in the recent floods, the PS in for livestock Jonathan Mueke joined Makueni County Government and wananchi at Makongo Forest in Makueni County in we planting over 10,000 trees.
He said they will continue with the campaign.
“He who plants a tree, plants a hope as per Lucy Larcom. Planting a tree is a sign of life during today’s tree-planting activity in Makongo forest, Makueni County,” he said.
Mueke stated the event aligns with the State Department’s “Towards Ending Drought Emergencies” (TWENDE) Project, that aims to end drought emergencies through activities such as planting trees to mitigate the effects of drought.
He also encouraged the locals to take up the challenge of ending drought in the county.
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