Nyamira residents advised to tap wealth from tree planting

Nyamira

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

KNA by Deborah Bochere

Nyamira residents have been advised to create wealth by investing in tree planting which is equally an enormously profitable unexplored venture.

 This advice was given by Principal Secretary for the State Department of Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Joseph Motari, observing that most people have not discovered the untapped wealth creation opportunity presented by planting trees yet they continue to decry poverty and joblessness.

“The one virtue most Kenyans lack is patience. If any tree planting investment venture is to break even and earn you profits, you must be ready to be patient and give these trees time to grow to maturity for them to fetch the investor good money,” the PS pointed out.

“Apart from timber, tree planting is one of the few investments which are multifaceted in profits. If you plant an avocado fruit tree for example, you get the fruits for eating at home to boost the family nutrition supplement, you sell the avocado fruits and even export to get money which will meet family financial needs, you get firewood from trimmed branches to be used as fuel at home, you get organic farm manure from falling leaves, you get timber from mature trees and some people use the green leaves as medicine and a nice shade in the homestead,” Morari listed.

The PS pointed out that the recently prolonged drought was disastrous in the country and the globe at large because most dairy farmers were greatly affected due to a lack of enough food for their cattle. Some of their flock died due to starvation and drought-related diseases like malnutrition, the high price of animal feeds was unaffordable to many and they were forced to sell some of their flock at throw-away prices. The farmer’s crop yield dropped drastically compelling skyrocketing of food prices, a situation which posed a challenge of food insecurity.

 “We are encouraging various youth, women and other registered groups in the county to start projects of growing tree nurseries alongside their main business project because the government in collaboration with Kenya Forest Services (KFS) will buy tree seedlings from these groups. The seedlings will be readily available whenever we are conducting tree planting exercises and will have a twofold profit, by planting trees we shall conserve our environment and generate income for those groups who will sell their seedlings.” Advised Motari.

He however discouraged residents from planting eucalyptus trees along riparian land and wetlands because these trees have caused a lot of damage to the soil, the environment and even the people who planted them. They consume a lot of water and have caused sources of our freshwater springs to dry up. They have endangered neighbouring crops because they deprive them of natural soil nutrients causing them to wither or fail to mature. 

“Conservation of our environment and natural resources should be our number one business in the 21st century. It is therefore our sole responsibility to craft adaptation mechanisms and advocacy strategies for combating the effects of climate change for the generation after us to survive. Take advantage of the rainy season at the moment to ensure that you plant a tree in any public institution or your home to reclaim our degraded natural environment,” the PS advised. 

He thanked all the stakeholders who ensured the green holiday was a success by donating tree seedlings to Nyamira residents for free courtesy of the public-private partnerships. He encouraged them to continue making more tree seedlings to give to people to plant to increase the percentage of tree cover.

Present to undertake the mass tree planting exercise with the PS were Nyamira County government officials led by their Governor Amos Nyaribo, various public and private institutions, companies, semi-autonomous institutions and members of the public.

Nyamira County is targeting to plant 4.3 million trees by 2032 where Kenya targets to grow and nurture 15 billion trees by 2032 in a bid to restore and conserve 10.6 million hectares of degraded landscapes and ecosystems.

Courtesy; KNA