The Minister of Forestry and Mines, Christopher Bazivamo has said that over 44 million trees will be planted countrywide in the tree planting week slated to be launched in Karongi District on November 8.

Speaking to The New Times, Bazivamo said that strategies are being laid to ensure the success of the exercise.

"But this is not the only tree planting period. It’s only that this is the time we give it emphasis, but the activity goes on in other rainy seasons.” Bazivamo added

He said that nursery beds of 10,000 trees were prepared at every Cell in the country "but in some cells they have more than this.”

The trees, he said, will be planted at roadsides, agro-forestry and wood-plots earmarked in every Village.

He however said that local based Non Governmental Organisations such as PAEF and International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFDC) also prepared nursery beds to be planted on 9,600 hectares in several parts of the country.

A total of 790,140 hectares (30 percent of country’s land) are scheduled to be planted with trees by 2020. Currently, Bazivamo said only 21 percent of land is covered.
Also to be planted by 2020 is 2,500 hectares of bamboo forests.

"We now want each district to add 7,900 hectares of trees and this has to be implemented done as soon as possible without waiting for 2020,” he said.

Each Village is slated to have planted 15 hectares of trees (wood plots) by 2020 but Bazivamo said; "we cannot wait for 2020. We have to plant all these trees with in the next few years. People can not live if there are no trees and that’s why we emphasize planting and protecting them.”

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