Nairobi — President William Ruto has announced a plan to grow 5 billion new trees as part of his climate change mitigation agenda.
To achieve the goal, Ruto asked every Kenyan, children included, to work towards growing 100 trees each.
"Every Kenyan, 50 million of us, must plant at least 100 trees, either in your compound, in your farm or in any other place you find... that is the surest way for us to turn around the climate so that we can have water, grow crops, do dams, agro-processing and make sure we have prosperity."
The Head of State was speaking on Saturday during the commissioning of the Thiba dam in Kirinyaga County where urged Kenyans to protect the environment, especially by planting trees and engaging in agroforestry to combat the severe drought that has gripped the nation.
"As a country, we must realize that as a member of the global community we have a challenge of climate right here with us. We have the most severe drought in 40 years confirming that we are already suffering the effects of climate change," Ruto stated.
He urged parents to support their children unable to plant trees themselves.
"If you have a child and they are unable to plant a tree, please do that for them, during their birthdays plant for them a tree. That is how we will ensure we maintain our environment and climate change for our own benefits," he said.
He reiterated his government's commitment to scaling up the country's forest cover which surpassed the 10 per cent threshold set out in the Constitution after the National Forest Resources Assessment (NFRA) Report 2021 recorded the national forest cover at 12 per cent.
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The country however missed a target of 15 per cent national fored cover set by President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration.
"We must do our bit as a nation; for us to have water, the way we have in this dam, we must mind our environment as a country we have made the policy decision that we must plant 5 billion trees," he said.
The Head of State emphasized on the need to combat the country's current climate change situation which he noted similarly affected other countries in the region and the continent.
Kenya is among countries in the Horn of Africa affected by the current severe drought that has left millions across the region in dire need of food aid.
The decline in livestock prices, an increase in cereal prices, and the general increase in prices of most consumer goods continue to undermine the purchasing power of households, exacerbating food insecurity in ASAL counties.
