Trans Nzoia will host this year’s national Mazingira Day celebrations on Saturday as the government combines a nationwide tree-planting drive with the launch of Kenya’s cocoa value chain.
The celebrations will be held at Kimothon Forest Station and Kenya Seed Farm, where the government will lead the national tree-growing challenge targeting more than 5.1 million seedlings across 31 counties.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Mlongo Barasa said the government is looking beyond tree planting to create economic opportunities from environmental conservation.
“Research has shown that several counties in Kenya have suitable agronomic conditions for the growth of cocoa. Therefore, we are launching the cocoa value chain this Mazingira Day, turning environmental stewardship into economic empowerment and building a sustainable future from the ground up,” Dr. Barasa said.
The cocoa initiative is expected to explore the potential of counties with suitable conditions to grow the crop and develop related economic activities around the value chain.
At the same time, the government has identified 83 sites in 31 counties for the Presidential Green Challenge, with a target of planting 5,111,440 seedlings.
Trans Nzoia has been allocated 220 hectares at the Kenya Seed and Kimothon sites, where 220,000 seedlings are expected to be planted.
The Kenya Forest Service (KFS), working with Community Forest Associations (CFAs), is coordinating preparations at the planting sites. Site clearing has started in most counties, with pitting and seedling distribution being undertaken ahead of Saturday’s exercise.
The government plans to mobilise 51,115 people to plant more than five million trees within one hour during the Presidential Green Challenge.
Beyond the main planting sites, village elders in 77,252 villages across the 31 participating counties are expected to plant 100 seedlings each, potentially adding more than 7.7 million trees.
Government institutions will also participate. The Kenya Prisons Service has a target of one million trees across 68 correctional facilities, while the National Youth Service plans to plant 1.5 million trees.
Mazingira Week, which began on October 5, has featured activities in education institutions, mine-site restoration, highway greening and drainage clean-ups.
A nationwide clean-up is scheduled for Friday, October 9, ahead of the main Mazingira Day celebrations on October 10.
The government says 11.6 million seedlings have been identified for the 83 national challenge sites, against a requirement of about 5.1 million. Counties facing shortages will receive seedlings from neighbouring counties.
The tree-growing campaign is also being supported by a longer-term plan to establish 300 KFS-NYS nursery camps with a combined capacity to produce 600 million seedlings.
The government says the initiative is intended to make environmental conservation a sustained national effort while giving communities opportunities to benefit economically from emerging green value chains.
