This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
On Monday, Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong'o and ICT and Innovation PS Jerome Ochieng led residents and forest officials in planting trees at Karateng’ in Kisumu West Constituency. The event marked the launch of the national tree planting exercise in Kisumu County, with the government targeting a 10 per cent forest cover by 2022.
As part of the campaign, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has kicked off the national tree planting exercise, targeting all 47 counties. Various senior State officers have been tasked with launching the programme in their respective counties.
Yesterday, ICT and Innovation PS Jerome Ochieng, accompanied by Governor Anyang Nyong'o and his executives, planted over 1,000 seedlings at Maseno, assisted by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) conservation officials.
According to PS Ochieng, the exercise is one of the pillars of the Big Four Agenda, and county governments and local communities have been roped in to spearhead the campaign. Kenya's current forest cover is at seven per cent, according to the Kenya Natural Resources Alliance.
"If we purpose to plant at least 10 trees per day, we will hit the target," Ochieng said, highlighting the importance of meeting the target of planting at least 470 million trees by 2022.
