President Ruto to launch tree planting app

President William Ruto has announced that he will be launching a mobile phone application to document tree planting as he intends to have 15 billion trees grown on Kenyan soil in the next 10 years.

This he revealed on Wednesday during the launch of the National Program for Accelerated Forestry and Rangelands restoration in Ngong', Kajiado County, where he explained that the application will help monitor the growth of trees over time.

Dubbed the #JazaMiti app, President Ruto said that the app complements the gains that the government is making towards having an effective ICT system and digitizing its services.  

"I will shortly be launching the #JazaMiti application, one that every Kenyan or institution will use to document their tree planting. The app will help to monitor, over time, the growth of trees," he said.

"We would like to monitor the growth of the trees in the journey to reach the 15 billion target in 10 years. I have instructed the Cabinet Secretary for Environment to make ‘Mission 15B’ #JazaMiti campaign a truly tree growing campaign."

In the same breath, the Head of State noted that the programe will provide over 300,000 employment opportunities for the youth and women who will have participated in the tree-growing campaigns over the 10-year period.

"Over the next 10 years, 320,000 direct jobs will be created in seedling production, tree planting and maintenance, thinning and pruning, maintenance of forest roads and fire breaks, community scouts, forest rangers and foresters," said Ruto.

President Ruto added that the government projects to cover about 10.6 million hectares of degraded forests and rangelands and create tree cover through the program.

He said that 15 billion seedlings will be distributed to different seed centres established countrywide. 

"Again, there will be no reason to stop, because the government has launched a programme to distribute 1,000 tonnes of seeds to 18 seed centres established by the Kenya Forestry Research Institute throughout the country," he noted.

"The centres will produce 15 billion seedlings between now and 2032. The seedlings will be grown on 10.6 million hectares of degraded forests and rangelands. This will take our total national tree cover beyond 30 per cent, surpassing all our present obligations and placing us firmly on course to restoring ecological integrity."

This comes on the backdrop of a commitment President Ruto made in October of embracing a green economy in the nation to help combat the effects of climate change.