GREEN MAYAGA: Over 700,000 seeds in Rwabashyashya tree nursery ready to get planted
By Justin Kayiranga
A year after the launch of the Green Mayaga Forest Landscape Restoration in the Mayaga region mostly occupied by the big part of the Southern Province of Rwanda, the project’s supervisors have confirmed that there are enough tree seedlings that are ready to be planted to further increase the afforestation programs as one of the components of the project.
The Green Mayaga Forest Landscape Restoration in the Mayaga region (FLR Mayaga) project which was launched in October, 2020 is a ground-breaking six-year project initiative that will afforest the degraded ecosystem and restore the natural forests of four districts of Mayaga (Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza and Gisagara) by promoting biodiversity, fostering ecosystem services, increasing agriculture productivity and reducing the vulnerability of people and ecosystems to the adverse effects of climate change.
For the Mayaga Region Rehabilitation exercise, various activities are being carried out on the ground, including the preparation of various species of trees, among them are agroforestry species grevillea robusta species, fruits trees among many others.
In report sent by the TOPAFRICANEWS reporter who is visiting the region to eyewitness the project implementation progress, highlights that more seedlings have been produced so far and are ready to be planted.
This is a promising step that in six years the area will have been planted with a variety of trees that will help restore fertility while at the same time improving the social and economic aspects among local communities.
Rwabashyashya marshland that is located in Kamonyi district, is one of the places where tree nurseries have been set up to prepare different varieties of tree species that are to be planted across the area.
In an Interview with TOPAFRICANEWS.COM, Rukundo Justin, the agronomist at the nursery, revealed that they have prepared numerous varieties of trees and so far are at planting stage.
He said: “We had a goal to prepare 196,000 grevillea robusta seedlings and now we have already prepared 250,000 seedlings.”
“For Eucalyptus, we had planned 174 thousand trees but today we have reached 214 thousand.
We have also prepared 4,000 bamboo to be planted on the river banks and swamps. In fact we have more than 700 thousand trees that are ready to be planted.” Mr. Rukundo revealed.
He also added that “We have prepared 9,000 trees of improved avocadoes, 8,000 orange trees and 4,000 mondalines fruits that will be distributed to the community to help in fighting malnutrition”
It is expected that all the trees that are ready to be planted will be distributed among local community in the coming rain season for planting.
In total, 263,000 hectares of agricultural land of Mayaga region will be restored and rehabilitated. Small and large watersheds will also be rehabilitated and restored to provide water for human consumption as well as livestock and agriculture activities.
