Uasin Gishu County, Tourism Fund seeks to increase forest cover
Uasin Gishu County has partnered with the Tourism Fund to increase the forest cover in the region.
The forest cover in the county stands at 7 percent, which is way below the national target of 10 percent.
Zippie Metto, Director of the Tourism Fund, stressed the importance of increasing forest cover in the region.
She spoke when launching the initiative in Chemoset, Soy, Uasin Gishu.
5500 trees were planted in schools, health facilities, and other public institutions.
Ms Metto appealed to residents to plant more trees to protect the environment increase cover and cushion the region against the effects of climate change.
“We want to appeal to residents to take seriously the conservation of the environment because the effects of climate are real and devastating,” she noted.
She stated that the tourism and agriculture sectors have been worst hit following the impact of climate change.
County chief officer in charge of agriculture Kepha Kesio said yields have dropped significantly due to climate change and the project is critical to turn around the fortunes of food security.
He explained that wheat production had dropped from 18,000 ha to 15000 ha as a result of erratic weather patterns.
“Our production stands at 2.5 million bags of wheat, yet the consumption is at 10 million bags. Millers are forced to import the grains due to shortages,” noted the county official.
He said that it was time for researchers to develop more new varieties to withstand the warmer temperatures.
“Most of the varieties are not doing well with the changing climatic conditions. We want to urge our farmers to embrace new technologies to mitigate against climate change,” added Mr Kesio.
Meanwhile, in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Health cabinet secretary Susan Nakhumicha said that they are targeting to plant 150 million trees in the next 10 years.
She said that the ministry will use the community health promoters to plant and nurture trees.
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