In Ethiopia, this is a season of leaving one's mark to save our planet from the ominous situation that climatic variability has posed. Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) is a local hallowed endeavor whose impacts go well beyond Ethiopia. Climatic shocks know no bounds. So do the good impacts of the GLI.
Reliable data show that over the last five years, 35 billion saplings have sprouted roots. The plan is to plant 50 billion saplings till the end of the Second Green Legacy Program which is in 2026. Last rainy season (June-August of 2023), over 7.5 billion young trees were planted. Of these, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that over 85 % have managed to survive.
The GLI is perfectly aligned with UN Decades of Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 and many other important issues expressed in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Initiative has gained traction over the last years. Ethiopians from all walks of life, as well as members of the foreign community based in Addis are leaving their imprints every planting season. What is more, Ethiopia's neighboring countries have benefited from it. The country provided seedlings to neighboring countries for it fully understands that a single-handed effort cannot yield fruit in the fight against climatic shocks.
Ethiopia's GLI is a two-pronged effort. In one hand, it plants seedlings aimed at conserving the environment. These plants play a pivotal role in sequestering carbon, recharging groundwater, and improving soil fertility. On the other hand, edible fruit trees and commercial crops also take root envisaged achieving food security and improving export earnings. The greening initiative is, therefore, part and parcel of the national scheme to ensure sustainable food security.
Of course, the vast arable land, rich water resources, and favorable climatic conditions of Ethiopia had not been properly harnessed to produce adequate food crops. What rubbed salt into the wound was, the environmental depilation that resulted from traditional agricultural practices and the like. Hence, the country was visited by recurring droughts. This is not to mention the catastrophic famine of the early 1980s which caused the deaths of millions of citizens, leaving its protracted impacts on the country.
The clear policy direction and workable strategy aimed at creating resilience are now helping the country stand in a better position in the area of agriculture. The GLI compounded by allied efforts would help ensure food security and create millions of jobs for the unemployed youth.
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To this effect, the reform government has started to think outside of the box. Its multi-sectorial development program that keeps agriculture at its center has started to produce fruit. Previously, the farmers/pastoralists considered that crops were able to be produced during the rainy season. Today, farmers know full well the fact that they can cultivate their lands both during wet and dry seasons so long as they conserve the environment. Ethiopia produced over 106 quintals of wheat by cultivating around 2,199,402 hectares of land in the just-ended dry season, for instance.
The summer irrigable wheat production was piloted in a few areas. The experience has been scaled up to regions such as Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, South Ethiopia, Central Ethiopia, South West Ethiopia, Afar, Gambela, Somali and Benishangul-Gumuz states. There are similar achievements registered in rice production as well.
Over 7.6 billion seedlings of various sorts are made ready for this planting season. Ethiopians and foreign nationals based in Addis will surely discharge their historic responsibility of saving mother earth for themselves and posterity by keenly involving themselves in the planting campaigns.
