The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has partnered with education institutions to plant trees towards a vital afforestation campaign.
The campaign aims to plant 500,000 fruit seedlings within a year, promoting environmental sustainability and education.
According to NDMA chairman of the technical committee Koome Kiragu, schools and tertiary institutions are targeted in this campaign supported by the European Union (EU), which will see some 10 primary and secondary schools from semi-arid areas receive twenty 10,000-litre water tanks to harvest rain water.
Koome, who was accompanied by NDMA CEO Lt Col (RTD) Hared Adan, spoke at Nkando Primary School.
5,000 mango tree seedlings are set to be planted in some 62 schools in Laikipia County during the current rainy season.
“We have decided to grow fruit trees for the benefit of our schools on nutrient uptake among learners and also as a way of generating income. It’s now the responsibility of the schools to take care of the trees until maturity,” said Kiragu.
Adan revealed that NDMA has a target of planting five million trees, including the fruit trees, by 2032 towards implementing the presidential directive of planting 15 billion trees in ten years.
“We have come up with an initiative to partner with institutions to inculcate the culture of protecting the environment among young people. This will also ensure that by the time children are completing Grade 9, they will have reaped the benefits of the fruit trees,” said Adan.
He said NDMA officials will be monitoring the seedlings after every three months to ensure their survival, citing this as the main reason they have also distributed the water tanks for rain water harvesting.
“Each household is able to harvest water that will support domestic usage and also grow trees. We encourage each family to plant at least five trees aimed at protecting our environment,” he said.
Beatrice Wachira from the office of Laikipia’s Director of Education said that school heads have been directed to ensure survival of the seedlings.
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