Ethiopia plants 5.5 billion seedlings toward 7.5 billion target in 2025 Green Legacy campaign

Addis Ababa, July 31, 2025 (FMC) — Ethiopia has successfully planted 5.5 billion seedlings so far this fiscal year, progressing steadily toward the ambitious target of 7.5 billion seedlings under its nationally acclaimed Green Legacy Initiative, the coordinator of the National Green Legacy Technical Committee reported.

This morning, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) officially launched the highly anticipated one-day mass tree planting campaign in Jimma Zone, which aims to plant 700 million seedlings nationwide in a single day. The campaign marks the seventh consecutive year of Ethiopia’s bold commitment to large-scale reforestation.

Adefris Worku, coordinator of the National Green Legacy Technical Committee, elaborated that the seedling stock prepared for this year’s program comprises 3.2 billion forest tree seedlings and 4.3 billion mixed forest species seedlings intended to bolster ecosystem restoration efforts.

Moreover, approximately 632 million fruit-bearing seedlings have been cultivated to enhance food security and promote nutritional diversity among communities.

To maximize survival rates and ensure robust establishment, 4.7 billion seedlings have been nurtured using advanced plastic-coated techniques that facilitate root retention and growth viability, Worku explained.

Significantly, 2.9 billion of the seedlings planned for planting consist of indigenous species, particularly targeted at the rehabilitation of degraded and deforested lands.

The committee disclosed that seedling production activities are underway at an extensive network of roughly 116,000 nursery sites nationwide, while over 2 million hectares of ecologically damaged land have been identified for restoration under the program.

Of these targeted restoration sites, approximately 668,000 hectares have been precisely georeferenced to optimize planting efficiency and monitoring.

Since its inception in 2019, the Green Legacy Initiative—launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed—has made tremendous strides, with Ethiopia on track to plant approximately 48 billion trees by the end of this rainy season, positioning the country as a global leader in large-scale environmental restoration efforts.

Complementing the year-round planting activities, today’s one-day campaign under the slogan “Renewal through Planting” highlights the nation’s unified determination to combat land degradation, promote biodiversity, and strengthen climate resilience.

This comprehensive reforestation campaign underscores Ethiopia’s steadfast commitment to environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and socio-economic development.