Top Of The Tree – AutoPot Afforestation In Kenya

Enhancing air quality, shielding communities, providing habitat, binding land, reducing flood risk, drawing down carbon, nothing brings goodness together quite like a tree. Or, in the Kenyan government’s opinion, 15 billion trees. That’s the ambitious afforestation target set out in late 2022  by Kenya’s President Ruto. This laudable plan to increase the country’s forest cover from 8.8% to 28% by 2030 is worthy of mention in it’s own right. We’re just happy that one of our Kenyan growers has taken it upon himself to get involved using AutoPot. 

Nam Oneko has been innovating with AutoPot in Kenya for over seven years. From growing to harvest with tomatoes, melons, peppers, and herbs to educational schemes and investment programmes, his work with our systems has been ceaseless and imaginative. 

When the government’s afforestation directive went out last year Nam immediately saw an opportunity to get involved. As he explains, ‘I saw a gap in the market, since AutoPot has the best germination system I focused this last season on germinating tree seedlings in our nursery. Today we have germinated over half a million indigenous tree seedlings and are progressing them using our easy2grow modules.’ And nowhere in Kenya is the need for increased tree cover more acute than in Nam’s native Siaya County.  

Siaya County ranks 47th out of Kenya’s 47 counties in terms of forest cover. Nam’s breakdown of the numbers behind that ranking lays the problem bare. ‘Just 0.23% of land in the area is forested and our total tree cover stands at 5.27%. The UN recommended global tree coverage is 10%.’ 

The irony is that Siaya is well disposed to solving the problems it faces, and assisting with seedling supply across the nation. As Nam says, ‘Siaya has abundant land and water to produce adequate tree seedlings to meet the demand.’ 

The intention is that the actual planting-out will involve the public as much as the government and private enterprise. The Ministry of Environment will provide free tree seedlings to people through schools and provincial administration offices in order that everyone can do their bit. However, the Ministry has been struggling to meet the desired volumes of seedlings required to reach their ambitious targets. 

This makes Nam’s work all the more important, especially as it reaches the next, critical phase. ‘As we speak we are awaiting the El Niño rains to transplant the tree seedlings in public and private lands within Siaya County. The project will only be a success once the tree seedlings are transplanted into the ground and natured.’ 

Whilst Nam is cautiously optimistic about planting, he is also rightly satisfied with his achievements to date. ‘What I am most proud of is that we achieved this remarkable goal of raising 500,000 tree seedlings without any insecticide nor fungicide or any synthetic fertilisers.’ Follow his onward journey @onekonam