Farmers across the country have been urged to embrace tree farming as efforts to increase forest cover by 10% by 2022.
While underscoring the additional value indigenous tress offer to farmers KFS ecosystem conservator Nyeri County Muchiri Mathenji says the move will reduce dependency of forests by communities living on the periphery of forests whose cover stands at 6.9% National below the international standards.
This follows the initiative by the government to review the status of forests in Kenya and put in place measures to increase the national forest cover to 10 per cent by 2022.
The Kenya forestry service is now spearheading efforts to have farmers adapt tree farming as key mitigation measures to reduce dependency by communities living on the periphery of forests.
While launching tree-planting exercise in Nyeri in Kabaru, kfs KFS ecosystem conservator Nyeri County Muchiri Mathenji says the move was vitol in ensuring depleted forests through illegal logging and irregular excisions have time to rejuvenate.
The move was lauded by Kabaru community forests association Chair Ephraim Muruki who says domestication of indigenous tree species will deliver multiple ecosystem services as key to increase forest cover, improve livelihoods through sale of timber and other tree products while providing food security in the country.
Muchiri who encouraged farmers to make use of the rains and increase series of tree planting exercise says 3.5 million seedlings are available for planting in Nyeri County alone.
Already more than 100 thousands tree seedlings have been planted with the forests management expected to embark on planting trees along the road to boast forest cover.