Ethiopia to geo-tag 750,000 tree-planting sites for upcoming one-day Green Legacy campaign

Addis Ababa, July 10, 2025 (FMC) — Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture has announced that 750,000 tree-planting sites across the country will be geo-tagged in preparation for an upcoming nationwide Green Legacy campaign aimed at planting hundreds of millions of seedlings in a single day.

The initiative is part of the ongoing Green Legacy rainy season planting effort, which this year is expected to cover over 2 million hectares of land.

According to Fanos Mekonnen, Head of the Ministry’s Department of Natural Resources Development, Conservation and Utilization, the campaign will mobilize individuals, communities, and institutions across Ethiopia to plant tree seedlings at designated sites whose geographical coordinates have been digitally mapped.

“These 750,000 geo-tagged sites will allow for real-time monitoring and verification of tree-planting activities,” Fanos stated. “Each site will be linked to a unique digital record, ensuring that no more seedlings are reported than are actually planted.”

He emphasized that the system not only promotes transparency and efficiency, but also strengthens public trust in the program. “By assigning a responsible individual to each planting site and logging the data into a centralized system, we eliminate the possibility of inflated figures or false reporting,” he explained.

Fanos added that members of the public, observers, and stakeholders will be able to view the geo-tagged planting locations via Google Maps, offering open access to verify progress and participation.

In addition to community and institutional participation, the Ministry noted that farmers across the country will also plant seedlings on backyard plots and small parcels of land, further contributing to the nation’s environmental restoration goals.

The exact date of the one-day national planting campaign has yet to be announced, but preparations are well underway. The Ministry said this year’s effort aims to build on the success of previous years, where billions of seedlings were planted as part of Ethiopia’s broader environmental and climate resilience agenda.