Kenya turns to farmers and schools to drive tree planting campaign

Parents and one Acre Fund officials join Sabasaba Secondary School students in Muranga County in a tree planting exercise on May 10, 2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

The country is relying on private agricultural networks and community institutions to accelerate its ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, following a new partnership between the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry and Tupande, the Kenyan arm of One Acre Fund.

The three-year agreement aims to expand agroforestry, restore degraded land and improve farmer livelihoods across 34 counties using Tupande’s network of 330 nurseries and more than one million smallholder farmers.

The partnership marks a major shift in Kenya’s reforestation strategy, with the government increasingly leaning on commercial agricultural systems, schools and local communities rather than forestry agencies alone to meet its climate and environmental targets.

Muranga Environment Officer Paul Muiruri said under the agreement, Tupande will distribute millions of timber, fruit and nut tree seedlings, including avocado and macadamia, linking environmental conservation with food security and income generation for farming households.

“The initiative will also support schools and learning institutions through community tree planting drives designed to promote environmental education, biodiversity awareness and climate action among young people,” he said.

Farmers and students are expected to participate in the 2026 Tupande Tree Planting Day in Murang’a County, where trees will be planted in schools and farms as part of a wider community-led restoration campaign.

The Ministry of Environment said the initiative will strengthen efforts to reverse deforestation, restore ecosystems and support Kenya’s climate commitments while creating economic opportunities for local communities.

One Acre Fund, operating locally as Tupande, said the project would also improve agricultural productivity by encouraging farmers to integrate trees into farming systems for soil conservation, shade, and long-term income generation,”.

“The partnership includes plans to transition from plastic nursery tubes to biodegradable alternatives in an effort to reduce environmental pollution linked to tree seedling production,” added Muiruri.

He further said all nurseries will also be integrated into the government’s Jaza Miti platform to improve transparency and monitoring of tree planting activities and seedling survival rates.

Kenya has so far planted approximately 783 million trees against a target of 15 billion by 2032, meaning the country must plant roughly 1.5 billion trees annually to remain on course.

Tupande says it has already planted 145 million trees as recorded on the Jaza Miti platform and is targeting more than 48 million trees during the current 2026 rainy season alone.

The organisation also reported distributing over 150 million seedlings between 2021 and 2024 across Kenya.

“This collaboration is anchored on enhancing agroforestry, restoring degraded lands and improving farmer prosperity,” Muriruri said.

The agreement also provides for annual public awareness campaigns and technical training programmes aimed at educating communities on sustainable planting practices, biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.

One Acre Fund currently operates in nine African countries and has committed to planting one billion trees globally by 2030.