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Tendai Rupapa
Senior Reporter
DURING the tree-planting season which ran from November last year to April this year, Zimbabwe surpassed its target thanks to interventions by the country’s environment patron First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.

Forestry Commission general manager Mr Abednico Marufu said the country had targeted planting 10 million trees, but ended up planting 12 million trees because of the First Lady’s countrywide campaigns which targeted pupils, farmers, communities among many other groups.

“In our tree planting season which started in October-November 2020 up to the end of the rainy season in April 2021, we managed to plant 12 million trees through the campaign which was started by the First Lady.

“We moved with the First Lady to all provinces of the country and if it were not for Amai, I think we were not going to achieve that figure and we are happy that especially in the tobacco growing provinces the Mashonaland provinces; Mash East, Mash West, Mash Central and Manicaland we witnessed a lot of planting of trees.

“Farmers are now coming in their numbers to collect seedlings. We give seedlings to all those people who are interested. We are happy we have seen a lot of progress,” he said.

Mr Marufu encouraged farmers to take good care of their trees given that the country is now in the fire season.

“What we are telling farmers is we are now in the fire season and we want to tell the farmers to look after the trees because it’s of no use to plant a tree in the same hole every year.

“Deforestation rate is going down a little bit because of the efforts we are putting in afforestation. We have been talking of about 300 000 hectares annually, but now it’s going down a little bit.

“We are at around 260 000 hectares.

“We are encouraging other farmers who may not have participated this season to also prepare for next season so that we add more trees. This year we want to double so that we can replace all the trees we have destroyed over the years.

“Matabeleland North and South are well wooded areas, but we want to encourage them to manage the existing indigenous resources because that’s where we get our wildlife. We want those areas to be protected because if we talk of Matabeleland North province that’s where most of our big rivers which go into the Zambezi come from.

“But the soils there are very weak, very fragile Kalahari sands so we would encourage our traditional leaders in those areas, our councillors, politicians everyone to be jealous about the trees that are there because they protect our rivers,” he said.

Mr Marufu spoke out strongly against people who were settling along rivers as this caused siltation.

“We know there are some people who have settled along some of our big rivers.

“It’s not proper to settle in forest areas where there is wildlife. You know if you go into wildlife areas those human-wildlife conflicts would be common.

“People will be trampled by elephants because it’s them going into their habitat. But we are saying those areas are for tourism and we want to go there and see elephants, not cattle with bells.

“Our tourists will come, they want to see animals. Even His Excellency the President has always said that let’s leave the forest areas, protected areas to that purpose because it makes the beauty of our country,” he said.

As patron of the environment, the First Lady has been working with various organisations, to promote tree-planting.

Recently, the First Lady engaged panners in Chiweshe in a bid to try and promote planting of trees as a way of reclaiming the environment.

The panners admitted that they were contributing to land degradation due to gold panning activities as they are cutting down trees and digging pits.

Amai Mnangagwa pleaded with them to cover the pits which they left opened and would source trees to plant with them.

The panners welcomed the planting of trees and agreed to fill their pits.

They further implored their peers countrywide to embrace the First Lady’s advice to cover the pits and plant trees.