By Malachi Motano
Tharaka Nithi County Commissioner (CC), Beverly Opwora has commended Kithitu Primary School for planting 2,600 trees in the institution’s 2-acre compound to improve the environment.
The CC emphasized the importance of agroforestry and urged farmers to enhance the practice by embracing the 10 per cent policy of planting trees around their farms.
She was speaking during a tree planting exercise in Kithitu Primary School after Kenya Forestry Services (KFS) in collaboration with the Government in Tharaka Nithi County to offered tree seedlings for the exercise.
Opwora noted that 3,000 trees seedling will given to the school while 5,000 seedlings will be handed to farmers, he said, adding that KFS in collaboration with Kazi Mtaani have been able to plant 700,000 trees in the county so far.
Through combined efforts with Kazi Mtaani and KFS, Environmental conservation has been conducted in Kiangondo forest by creating a 17km fire break to create a buffer zone to curtail spread of fire in case of an outbreak, thus creating a better environmental conservation of the forest, she said.
She also acknowledged the efforts of the County Government and Chuka University and assured them that the County will achieve forest coverage of 22 per cent by next year, which currently stands at 19.4 per cent.
