The Community Forest Associations (CFA) of Kimondi and Cerengoni Forests in Nandi County have pledged to grow trees in a bid to complete their backlogs and support the 15 billion tree-growing campaign.
The pledge was made on Thursday, August 21, 2025, during the launch of the accelerated tree growing campaign for the short rains season at Kimondi Forest Station, where over 35,000 seedlings were grown.
Speaking at the event, the acting Senior Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) for Strategy Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation, Zipporah Toroitich, urged the community to take advantage of the favourable weather conditions to increase the tree cover on their farms and in the gazetted forests.
She informed the gathering that forests were a heritage that must be preserved for future generations to ensure their prosperity.
How many tree seedlings have been planted under the 15 billion tree-growing programme?
In a speech read on his behalf, the Chief Conservator of Forests, Alex Lemarkoko, noted that two years into the 15 billion tree growing programme, the public had taken ownership of the national call to action.
”To date, 846,863,143 seedlings have been planted and geo-tagged through the Jaza Miti digital platform, a system that ensures transparency and accountability in tracking our collective tree growing efforts,” said the CCF.
He thanked various partners, including counties, NGOs, and corporate organisations, who he noted had boosted seedlings production, enabling the supply of over 561,697,667 tree seedlings nationwide.
Speaking at the same event, the Nandi Central Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Alfet Jillo, called on the local community to embrace modern farming methods, which guarantee higher yields in order to reduce pressure on the forests.
She also implored the people to conserve wetlands, saying that they were important biodiversity hotspots that had great ecological value.
In addition, the Nandi Environment and Natural Resources County Executive Committee Member (CECM), Hillary Serem, pledged the County Government’s support in ensuring that the forests are conserved in order to safeguard the livelihoods of the people.
