A lobby group has urged farmers across the country to plant trees as a means towards improving agricultural productivity.
Tupande by One Care Fund said they collaborate with farmers across the country to inculcate the culture of tree planting.
Bernard Kibet, the group's tree planting programme country lead, said this is not only a a measure against climate change but also a food productivity ingredient.
He spoke in Siaya county during the National Tree Growing Day.
"This is a very big day for us here at Tupande because this is the season where we are planting trees," Kibet said.
"We have really a huge target of getting most of the seedlings that we have in our nurseries to clients."
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, forests and trees make an essential contribution to food security by helping to maintain the environmental conditions needed for agricultural production.
Kibet said trees protect soil from erosion, increase aeration and water infiltration, while adding nutrients to the soil and moderating air and soil temperatures.
Soils with higher organic matter content supplied by trees reduce the need for the use of fertilisers to produce crops.
"One Acre Fund is collaborating with smallholder farmers, who are an extremely important constituency, to tap into the national tree-planting campaign, because they are stewards of most of the nation’s land," Kibet said.
He said they have 330 tree nurseries across the country, with 28 tree varieties.
As part of the national tree-growing campaign, Tupande distributed more than 10 million tree seedlings, averaging 50,000 per nursery.
Kibet said any farmer who visited their nurseries to buy a seedling received 25 seedlings free of charge, while those contracted by the organisation received 50.
In Siaya county, more than 600,000 tree seedlings were distributed and planted.
Irene Omondi, a tree seedlings farmer in Bondo, said after she signed a contract with Tupande by One Acre Fund, she received training, planting bags, fertiliser and seeds.
"Right now we have various trees seedlings in our Bondo nurseries," she said.
She cited graveria, paw paw, lemon, mangoes, macademia fruit nuts and acacia.
About 80 per cent of Kenyans derive their livelihoods from agriculture, and most are smallholders who produce crops for their household food supplies.
In addition to helping mitigate climate change, trees have many practical advantages for farmers.
Certain varieties, such as grevillea, can benefit the soil when grown alongside staple food crops, and the wood can be a source of income if farmers cut and replant their trees after a few years.
Tupande sucessfully distributed 40 million trees seedlings in 2023 through a variety of channels, including schools, hospitals, churches and direct farmers' outreach, with a goal of assisting farmers in planting 75 million trees by 2025.
