Today, Ethiopians from all walks of life are planting as many trees as possible. It was early in the morning (6:00 am) that they started flocking to the areas where tree seedlings are planted to successfully realize the ambition of the nation to plant 600 million tree seedlings in a single day and break the global record.
As part of this aspiration, all Ethiopians throughout the country are planting millions of tree seedlings. Mainly, all states are setting their own targets, they are striving to meet their goals and make history.
Recently, the Agriculture Bureau of Amhara State announced its readiness to plant 285 million tree seedlings in a single day and propel the national effort. According to the Natural Resources Development, Protection and Utilization Department of State’s Agriculture Bureau, 28 thousand 500 hectares of land is prepared to plant over 285 million seedlings.
According to the Bureau, the Green Legacy Initiative holds a big idea. Aside from restoring degraded lands and greening Ethiopia, it will contribute significantly to global efforts exerted to mitigate the impacts of global warming.
Similarly, Oromia State also revealed a plan to plant hundreds of millions of tree seedlings as part of the national Green Legacy Initiative, targeted to planting 600 million tree seedlings. According to State`s Agriculture Bureau Deputy Head Elias Kedir, all the necessary preparations were finalized to achieve the set target. Advocacy works have been undertaken to achieve the plan while sites and planting holes are prepared well, he mentioned. According to Elias, the seedlings have been planted in 1,000 spotted areas in many parts of the State.
According to him, Oromia has been carrying out soil and natural resource protection activities by planting over 5.5 bn on seedlings under the Green Legacy Initiative. The seedlings that are being planted today are different in species and include fruits such as avocado, guava, and plants that are used for animal fodder and environmental protection as well.
Oromo people have a good culture of preserving trees under the traditional constructive rules, and the Green Legacy Initiative will have paramount importance in achieving the plan across the State, he noted. He also called upon residents to put their fingerprints on these historical moments and support the national ambition of improving production and productivity.
Likewise, Sidama National Regional State indicated the plan to plant 10 million tree saplings on this historic day by engaging over 2.1 million people. In a similar way, Dire Dawa City Administration Mayor Kedir Juhar also stated a plan to plant one million tree seedlings and leave a legacy in the national 600 million saplings in a single day.
And today, Ethiopians committedly are planting as many tree seedlings as they can to realize their ambition and make history. Without a doubt, Ethiopia would manage to plant 600 million saplings in just a day and write history by breaking the world record registered by India in 2016 by planting 50 million trees.
The Green Legacy Initiative, which enables Ethiopia to cope up with climate change, is witnessing positive results. It has enabled the country to rehabilitate its degraded lands, improve the country’s forest coverage, instill massive seedling planting and environment preservation and conservation culture.
For instance, following the initiative, the Somali State, which once faced serious desertification, is now turning green and 80 percent of the seedling trees that were planted for the outgoing Ethiopian year are bearing fruits.
Mentioning that the State had been one of the areas that were affected by desertification, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the initiative has enabled to turn areas that faced desertification into green. In addition to this, it has created job opportunities for several youths. Following the Green Legacy Initiative program, several tree seedlings are planted in the region and degraded lands are rehabilitated, he remarked.
According to Ahmed, there is a plan to plant more than 13 million tree seedlings in this year’s massive seedling planting campaign. So far, 7.9 million tree seedlings have been planted and more than 3,000 hectares of land are covered.
The coordinator also said that there are a large number of saplings that are used for beautifying the cities and roadsides as well as for animal feed.
True, the Green Legacy Initiative has wide-ranging benefits aside from restoring degraded lands, improving forest coverage, and promoting a green economy. It has also socio-economic benefits by generating job opportunities for citizens and ensuring food security by enabling to growth of varieties of food crops and fruits such as avocado, papaya, and mango among others.
In a message he posted in his social media page in relation to the initiative to plant 600 million seedlings in a single day, Prime Minister Abiy highlighted the importance of togetherness among Ethiopians saying that there is nothing that we can’t achieve if we stand together.
“Let us come out and leave our legacy throughout Ethiopia with one spirit. If we are one, we can do more,” he remarked.
The Premier also urged adults and teenagers to leave their legacy by planting over 20 and 10 seedlings respectively; thus practically demonstrating their love for their country and their respect for the next generation.
“Ethiopians have been able to achieve great things, especially when they stand together for a common goal, said Government Communication Service State Minister Selamawit Kassa while talking concerning the Green Legacy Initiative and the success Ethiopians achieved so far. “There is no more recent example than the Green Legacy Initiative to achieve this in practice.”
“This is something to be proud of as a citizen,” she noted.
Emphasizing the significance of the initiative, Selamawit also called on adults to plant over 20 saplings each and teenagers more than 10.
In the preceding rainy season, 2023, Ethiopia planted over 566 million tree seedlings in a single day, surpassing the target of 500 million seedlings in a single day.
So far, as to documents, under this initiative over 32.5 billion plants have been planted in Ethiopia which has so far created more than 1 million jobs and the number of nurseries increased to 145,000 in Ethiopia.
BY LEULSEGED WORKU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 2024
