- The donated seedlings include fruit trees as a way of conserving the environment at the same time boosting a source of income to many when harvested.
- The trees will be planted within the 18 counties in Nyanza, part of the Western and Rift Valley region
Image: FAITH MATETE
Lake Basin Development Authority(LBDA) has donated 65,000 tree seedlings to counties within their area of work.
The government declared Monday 13th November as a public holiday for a nationwide tree-planting exercise in line with President Ruto's target of planting 15 billion trees.
The donated seedlings include fruit trees as a way of conserving the environment at the same time boosting a source of income to many when harvested.
The trees will be planted within the 18 counties in Nyanza, part of the Western and Rift Valley region.
Speaking to the media in Kisumu LBDA Managing Director Wycliffe Ochiaga noted that they have met all the partners and mapped out areas where the 62,000 trees will be planted on Monday.
He said out of the donations, Kisumu will receive a total of 15,000 tree seedlings of which 30 per cent consists of fruit tree seedlings.
Ochiaga said they will join the national tree planting occasion at Kodiaga prisons where Moses Kuria, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, will be presiding over the event.
“In Homa Bay, we will be planting 10,000 tree seedlings including those of fruits and the remaining numbers will be divided across the other regions to complement others that will be planted,” he said.
He added that they are working closely with the County governments and commissioners within the three regions.
He said they want to ensure that more trees are planted
“The trees are being planted at Kodiaga Prison in Kisumu and Igembe area in Homa Bay which is also near a prison because we are sure of labour and supply of water hence growing of the trees and improving the trees cover within the region,” he added.
He noted that as an Authority, they enhance propagation, donate where possible, and also sell the seedlings at fair rates.
The MD noted that this year alone, they have managed to distribute, plant, and grow a total of 80,000 trees, out of which 30 percent are fruit trees.
Internally, he said they have set a target for their staff. Each of them is expected to pant 50 trees annually per person which translates to 14,000 trees annually from all their staffs.
Ochiaga added that they have also integrated tree planting programs within their community water projects amongst other areas.
Currently, he said they are working to adapt a forest to improve the tree coverage.
Kajulu forest was identified in Kisumu.
The MD also took the opportunity to call on locals to come out in large numbers on Monday to plant trees.
Kisumu County Commissioner Hussein Alassow Hussein urged officials across various sectors of the public to take an active role in the tree-planting exercise.
The seedlings will be planted at the Kisumu National Polytechnic, Ramogi Institute of Advanced Technology (RIAT), Kajulu Forest, Koguta Forest, Muhoroni and Kodiaga Prisons.
He disclosed that they aimed to achieve the country’s target of 4.3 million tree seedlings during this short rain period.
The County Commissioner said the targets will be cascaded downwards to the sub-county level to ensure community involvement and ownership in environmental conservation programs.