By Boniface Mulu
Kitui County, Kenya: Hundreds of people most of them schoolchildren recently participated in the Kitui Development Centre (KDC)-Schools Greening Initiative Annual Walk. They walked for four kilometres from the Kitui Development Centre Office up to the Kitui Teachers Training College where they were addressed by some leaders.
Let Us Plant Trees for Life was the event’s theme was the theme for the event.
The Kitui Development Centre Board of Directors Chairman, Michael Musembei Nyamai, was the event’s chief guest. About 500 tree seedlings (both fruits and non-fruits) were planted at the Kitui Teachers Training College during the function.
The event was organized by the Kitui Development Centre in partnership with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kitui County government, National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK), Schools Greening Initiative, Kitui Teachers Training College, Kitui County Commissioner’s Office, Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), Water Resources Authority (WRA) Inades Formation Kenya and Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) among others.
In his speech, the chief guest Michael Musembei Nyamai said: “The Kitui Development Centre is a local non-governmental organization based in Kitui and a member of the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM). We have met here at the Kitui Teachers Training College to celebrate World Food Day through the School Greening Initiative Walk.” The climate crisis is here threatening the ecosystems, food systems, and communities globally, Nyamai said. “However, there is hope in the agroecological approach that works with nature to restore soil health, protect biodiversity, and build climate resilience. We need urgent action at all levels,” he added.
The NGO official said that at the global level, we must integrate agroecological concerns into international climate change agreements such as the Paris Agreement and increase financing on climate change concerns for sustainable agriculture more so in vulnerable regions. “Knowledge sharing and global cooperation on agroecology are essential in scaling these solutions,” he said. Right to food for a better life and a better future is the theme for this year’s World Food Day, Nyamai said. “This is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 3 which is to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of all at all ages,” he also said.
“We do appreciate the efforts made by the national and the Kitui County governments and other players,” he added. “Despite these efforts, a lot still remains to be done to achieve this goal. The current food situation is worsened by exorbitant prices and poor quality of farm inputs to mention just a few. The main challenge on food production is climate change mainly resulting from deforestation, soil erosion, and degradation which adversely affect the rainfall distribution and the water quantity and quality,” Nyamai said. “Cop 28 resolutions emphasize the importance of conserving, protecting and restoring the nature and the ecosystems acting as a sink and conserving biodiversity,” he added. “At the national level, the president of the Republic of Kenya’ committed to planting some 15 billion trees by the year 2030 while this is a good gesture a lot needs to be done in terms of financing and the actual work on the ground.
We, as Kenyans and the beneficiaries of these efforts, need to fully support the president in achieving this target. This takes cognizance of the fact that food and nutrition security is not only a basic need but also a right as per Article 43(1) of Kenya’s 2010 constitution. We therefore make a call to the national and the county governments, development partners, and other stakeholders involved in agriculture and environment to fully come out and support this initiative,” the KDC official said. Nyamai said the governments should incorporate agro-ecological issues into their climate policies providing incentives for farmers to adopt sustainable practices.
“Education and training programmes must empower the farmers to lead this transition which will not only reduce emissions but also enhance food security and livelihoods,” he said. He called upon Kenya’s government to make efforts to trickle down the money for climate justice in all the country’s 47 counties and all the wards across the country.
He also called upon it to Increase the budgetary allocation for agriculture and the environment in the country. He said the county governments should embed agroecological issues into their climate action plans, investing in green infrastructure and supporting community-led initiatives, empowering smallholder farmers and communities as well as developing the local markets for sustainable produce. “This is key to building the climate resilience from the grassroots,” Nyamai went on.
“Further the county governments should also invest in water harvesting and conservation at the household level,” he said. “We call for urgent action for the women and youths in Kenya to increase their role in food production,” he said. “In a nutshell when we act at the global, national, and local levels, we transform agriculture into a force for climate resilience that ensures a sustainable future for both the people and the planet,” the NGO official added. The Kitui Development Centre Director Janet Syombua Mumo also addressed the occasion.
She disclosed that the non-governmental organization has some tree nurseries in the Kitui Country’s Kitui Central, Mutomo, and Katulani Districts. “Last year we bought some tree seedlings worth some 200 million shillings and all went to the groups,” Mumo said. She disclosed that they started the Schools Greening Initiative last year for the good of environmental conservation. The NGO official talked about the importance of the trees. “When we have the trees, the trees are food, money, and medicines among so many other benefits,” she said.
Kitui County Environment, Climate Change, Forestry, Energy and Natural Resources Ministry official Evelyn Kitavi also addressed the occasion. “We the county ministry have been at the forefront of championing tree planting in the county,” she said. “We plant the trees in the schools, gazetted areas, protected areas, markets, and hospitals among others in the county,” the environmentalist added. Kitavi said: “We the county ministry are implementing an urban greening programme in the country.
And we have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) in running the programme,” Kitavi said. She was representing the Kitui County Environment, Climate Change, Forestry, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Richard John Mwendandu at the event. “We say this is the best rainy season (October to December) for the tree planting. We the county ministry have some tree seedlings and I ask those who want the tree seedlings for planting to come to the office. We are giving them out for free,” the ministry official said. She added that the Kitui County government has put up a climate change mitigation mechanism in the country for the benefit of environmental conservation.
“We are currently doing some rehabilitation at the Mutha, Mui, Mutitu, Nuu, and Endau hilltops in the county through our County Climate Change Mitigation Programme,” Kitavi said. There are some 282 government forests in the Kitui County of which seventeen are managed by the Kenya Forest Service and 265 by the Kitui County government. On his part, the area (Kitui Central) District Officer (DO) Benedict Kipkoroi said: “We are talking of the environmental conservation matters to save our lives.” The administrator said that tree planting is not the government’s duty alone. “It is a collective responsibility to protect the environment. It is a collective responsibility when we are talking of something which is good,” Kipkoroi added. “I thank the Kitui Development Centre and all the other stakeholders who are giving this exercise the top priority,” the state officer said.
He was representing the Kitui County Commissioner Kipchumba Ruto at the function. The Kitui Teachers Training College Chief Principal Gerald Mutegi also addressed the occasion among others.
