Addis Ababa — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed remarked that fruit cultivation being underway through the Green Legacy Initiative efforts is yielding impressive results, demonstrating significant progress.

The Green Legacy Initiative is a flagship program initiated by Prime Minister Abiy in 2019 with the objective of restoring degraded lands, increase the forest cover and reduce the impact of climate change.

Ethiopia has so far planted over 32.5 billion tree saplings nationwide as part of the initiative, that aims to plant 50 billion tree seedlings by 2026.

In addition to tree planting, the initiative also included seedlings of high-value plants for both local and international markets, such as avocados, mangoes, apples, and papayas.

In his social media posts today, the premier said, fruit cultivation being underway through the initiative is yielding impressive results, demonstrating significant progress.

"To build on this success, it is essential that we continue to enhance our practices, invest in innovative techniques, and engage with our community to further advance our environmental and agricultural objectives," he underlined.

Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative has multiple targets as it naturally touches on various targets of the 2030 Agenda. Contribution to food security is one of the objectives of the Initiative.

The nation has planned to plant 7.5 billion tree seedlings this rainy season as part of the initiative.

The goal for this year is to reach 40 billion seedlings from the overall target of 50 billion.