PS Mugambi Chaired Meeting With Forest SAGAs, Called for Expansion of Nurseries To Accelerate Tree Growing

March 10 2026

Forestry Principal Secretary Gitonga Mugambi chaired a high-level strategic meeting with the leadership of the State Department’s Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) at the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) headquarters in Karura.

The meeting brought together senior forestry leadership, including KFS Board Chairman Titus Korir, Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko, and Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) Director General Jane Njuguna. Discussions focused on accelerating the implementation of key forestry programmes, particularly the scaling up of seedling production to support the Government’s flagship 15 Billion Trees Growing Initiative.

The Principal Secretary emphasized the urgent need to expand tree nursery infrastructure across forest stations nationwide to significantly increase seedling propagation capacity. This followed the Presidential directive to scale up nursery development to ensure a steady supply of high-quality seedlings required to sustain the ambitious national tree growing programme.

During the meeting, it was noted that the KFS headquarters in Karura would host one of the 17 planned mega tree nurseries, expected to serve as a major seedling production hub supporting restoration efforts across the country.

PS Mugambi also underscored the importance of maximizing the long rains season to accelerate tree planting activities. He noted that increasing tree cover remained critical in restoring degraded landscapes, strengthening climate resilience, and mitigating environmental challenges such as floods, landslides, and prolonged droughts.

The meeting further highlighted the involvement of the National Youth Service (NYS), whose officers were being deployed to forest stations across the country to support nursery establishment, seedling production, and large-scale tree planting activities.

The PS commended the forestry agencies for their continued commitment to forest restoration and called for enhanced coordination to ensure the country remained on course to achieve the national target of 30 percent tree cover by 2032.

Also present were Ministry officials led by Secretary, Forest Development George Tarus and Senior Chief Finance Officer Tobias Osano.

#15BillionTrees #TreeGrowingKE #ForestRestoration #ClimateActionKE #GreenKenya