Joining millions of residents across the region, the regional chief planted mango seedlings in South Wollo as part of an effort targeting 327 million saplings across 65,900 hectares.
Amhara regional chief Arega Kebede led by example in South Wollo Zone as millions of residents mobilized for a single-day national challenge aiming to plant 800 million tree seedlings across Ethiopia.
Joining regional senior officials and local community members in the Cheleka cluster—which connects three kebeles in Kalu Woreda (district)— the regional chief took part in the eighth round of the Green Legacy Initiative, planting portion of more than 60,000 mango seedlings prepared across 213.5 hectares of land.
Across Amhara Region as a whole, regional authorities have designated 3,554 planting sites covering 65,900 hectares, with a total regional target of putting 327 million seedlings into the ground during this phase.
“What we plant today is tomorrow’s life, shade, water, and hope,” Arega Kebede said, calling on farmers, youth, women, religious institutions, the private sector, and civil society to take collective responsibility for post-planting care. “Protecting and maintaining these saplings is our duty to ensure we pass down a fertile, green land to future generations.”
Measurable Economic and Environmental Returns
The focus on post-planting stewardship is already yielding tangible results in communities that participated in earlier phases of the campaign.
In Central Gondar Zone’s Chilga Woreda, Getaw Meles, team leader for natural resource development at the district agriculture office, reported that previously planted seedlings have achieved a survival rate of more than 88 per cent due to strong community ownership.
Local residents in Chilga reported that environmental restoration works have rehabilitated severely degraded landscapes. Micro-watershed recovery has expanded local water availability from a single spring to 15 active sources, unlocking new opportunities for irrigated fruit and vegetable farming.
Prioritising Food Security and Economic Saplings
Alongside environmental conservation species, this year’s drive places significant emphasis on economically viable and food-producing trees.
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North Gojjam Zone: Communities and local officials gathered in Wogelsa Kebele (Bahir Dar Zuria Woreda) as part of a zonal push to plant 18.5 million seedlings. More than 1.5 million of these saplings are high-value economic varieties intended to generate local income.
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West Gondar Zone: Planting carried on in Gendawuha town under the motto “Planting Hope Together”, where local residents noted that growing fruit trees directly supports household food sovereignty while creating a lasting environmental inheritance for their children.
