In an effort to attain the ten per cent tree cover in the country, the Department of Forest Extension has called upon more residents in Limuru to engage in forestry farming.
Speaking from his office today, the Sub-County Forest Officer (SCFO), Joseph Njoroge, said the public played an important role in realisation of the vision adding that seedlings were available to the farmers.
Through the Forest Extension Program (FEB), 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.
The SCFO said that actualisation of the program 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 that the department was charged with the responsibility of giving farmers technical advice on tree planting, educating them on the management of trees and marketing end products.
The officer added that the program 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 emphasizing the need for more youth groups investing in tree farming.
Kennedy Mungai, a beneficiary of the Forest Extension Program said that 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 program 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 targeting schools and public institutions to take part in forestation for shelter belts, fuel or simply aesthetic beauty.