Huge chunks of land under irrigation is the one of the major challenges facing afforestation in Kisumu county.
Speaking during the International Day of Forest celebration in Kisumu ,the County Conservator of Forest Joseph Maina noted that the arable land in this area is under the sugarcane and rice planting.
“People who are growing sugarcane do not do afforestation. They are supposed to set aside some belts along the farms where they can grow trees,” he said.
According to Maina rice farmers don’t plant trees for fears that they will attract birds who will inturn destroy the crop.
The conservator also noted that the county’s forest cover is at 2.44 per cent as he called upon the stakeholders to join hands so that they can meet a 10 per cent forest cover.
As part of the afforestation mechanisms the Kenya Forest Service launched a programme to distribute seedlings to farmers.
The Forest Irrigation Climate Change and Green Energy project aims at supporting both tree and fruit farming.
They have since been engaging in fruit farming through distribution of fruit seedlings that can mature and produce fruits after a short period of time.