Ethiopia launched its seventh annual Green Legacy Initiative on Thursday, aiming to plant 700 million seedlings in a single day as part of a broader target of 7.5 billion trees this year.
The nationwide reforestation campaign, launched in 2019 by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has planted more than 40 billion forest, agro-forest and ornamental seedlings since its inception.
The initiative has transformed degraded landscapes and inspired similar programs across Africa.
“We kicked off this year’s one-day Green Legacy planting early this morning. Our goal for the 7th year: 700 million seedlings. Let’s achieve it together!” Abiy said Thursday.
This year’s campaign, themed “Renewal Through Planting,” has drawn international attention. Nigeria’s presidential advisor called the program “exceptionally laudable” and “worthy of emulation.”
The government has integrated economic objectives into the environmental program, planting fruit trees including avocado and mango.
Ethiopia plans to expand avocado farmland fivefold by 2030, distributing 1.8 million high-yield avocado seedlings through the initiative this year.
The program extends beyond Ethiopia’s borders through regional youth deployments to Kenya, Djibouti and South Sudan.
These cross-border efforts reflect the initiative’s growing role in pan-African sustainability efforts.
Community participation forms the campaign’s foundation, mobilizing millions of Ethiopians from schoolchildren to senior officials to plant and care for seedlings annually.
The Ministry of Planning and Development said soil and water conservation practices have become embedded in national culture.
Ethiopia has allocated significant financial resources and enacted new legislation to support the initiative.
“To sustain this initiative, we have passed a new law that allocates up to 1% of our national budget to sustainable land management and our Green Legacy Initiative,” said Ambassador Etsegenet Bezabih Yimenu at the Senior Officials Meeting of the Third Horn of Africa Peace Conference in Kampala this week.
“We have set an ambitious cause towards a climate-resilient, net-zero economy by 2050, aligned with the UN Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Ethiopia mobilized 25 million people in our Green Legacy Initiative and planted 40 billion seedlings across the country,” she added.
As climate change intensifies challenges, including food insecurity and land degradation across Africa, Ethiopia’s reforestation program offers a model for community-driven environmental action.
Addis Ababa, July 31, 2025 – Bantu
