The Department of Forest Extension has called upon residents in Limuru to engage in forest farming in an effort to attain the Vision 2030's ten per cent tree cover.
Speaking in his office on Tuesday, the sub-county Forest Officer (SCFO), Joseph Njoroge, said the public plays an important role in realisation of the vision adding that seedlings were available to the farmers.
Njoroge said the department was targeting existing groups like youth and women groups, Saccos and like minded people in the community to attain the cover through the Forest Extension Programme.
The SCFO said that actualisation of the programme through groups was affordable and produces better results than individual farmers as they share labour and production costs and are more accountable to commercial activities with the trees.
He said the department was charged with the responsibility of giving farmers technical advice on tree planting, educating them on the management of trees and marketing the end products.
The officer added that the programme does not limit the number of people in each group as long as they have existing land to plant the seedlings.
Njoroge noted that in the region, women and the elderly were more concerned about afforestation compared to young people, emphasising on the need for more youth groups to invest in tree farming.
Kennedy Mungai, a beneficiary of the Forest Extension Programme, said his group had planted trees for the past six years and was now reaping the fruits of patience and resilience.
Mungai said his group used more than an acre as woodlot and was now seeking to sell the trees for construction and firewood.
The extension programme which is currently campaigning for farm forestry in arid and semi-arid areas saw more than 35,000 seedlings planted in Ndeiya last year.
It is also targets schools and public institutions to take part in forestation for shelter belts, fuel or simply aesthetic beauty.