Kenyan President Ruto unveils aerial tree-seeding program — Nation Kenya

Kenyan President William Ruto has announced an aerial tree-seeding program aimed at accelerating forest restoration and helping the country achieve its target of growing 15 billion trees by 2032. The initiative will cover deforested forest areas and other designated territories. This was reported by Nation Kenya.

Ruto unveiled the program on October 10 during Mazingira Day celebrations at the Kenya Seed Company’s Elgon Downs farm in Endebess, Trans Nzoia County. According to him, 5.3 million trees were planted across the country as part of this year’s Mazingira Day events.

Satellites and artificial intelligence

For aerial seeding, the authorities plan to use technology to identify suitable locations. The government also intends to use satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to map priority areas, monitor tree growth and assess their survival rate.

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The president said that about 2 billion trees have been planted in Kenya since the initiative was launched. He also said that the authorities are seeking new approaches to accelerate the program and increase seedling survival. Village elders have been involved in mobilizing communities to plant trees.

Data on progress toward the target

Interior Ministry official Raymond Omollo, during events in Lambwe Forest in Homa Bay County, gave an estimate of approximately 2.2 billion trees planted — 14.7% of the national target. According to him, village elders planted 7.7 million trees in more than 77,000 villages.

In Homa Bay, nearly 6,000 trees were planted during Mazingira Day, against a target of 10,000. Nyeri County reported that 416,600 trees had been planted. Local residents were urged to register planted trees in the Jaza Miti mobile app to keep track of the program’s results.