By Max Mahara Medison

Salima, February 16, Mana: Salima District Council has set an ambitious target of four million trees to be planted in the 2025/2026 tree planting season, calling for support from stakeholders to achieve the target.

The council has already collaborated with M&B Company, manufacturers of Tamu-Tamu drink, in launching the tree planting season with this target of 4,000,000 trees.

Speaking on Saturday during the launch of the 2025/2026 tree planting season at Makande Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority Salima, Salima District Council chairperson Ephraim Manthepa highlighted that the collaborative effort is key in replenishing the district's vegetative cover.

"High population and careless cutting down of trees and large-scale charcoal burning in the district has hit us hard, therefore we really need to coordinate to ease some of the climatic shocks such as droughts and flooding," he said.

He said the district has lost much of its vegetative cover, which is worrisome as most parts of the land have been left bare resulting in running water and soil erosion, adding that low yield has been prevalent in most communities.

Manthepa then recommended tree planting as the best initiative for restoring the environment.

He also urged everyone in the district to take part in caring for the trees.

“We have to restore our nature. This can be done by planting a good number of trees every year, and each one of us must participate in caring for the trees,” he said.

Acting Director of Natural Resources and Environment, Adam Jason, expressed optimism that the target will be met by the end of the season.

“The initiative is going well and we are happy to say that we have managed to plant over 3.8 million trees already. This is giving us more confidence that we will meet the target of four million trees by the end of the planting season,” he said.

Jason also applauded M&B for being a trusted partner in supporting the tree planting initiatives for the past two years, and he further called for more partners in the drive.

M&B Company Manager MacCity Makhuwira highlighted the importance of vegetation to the company’s business and expressed the company's interest in ensuring that nature is restored in Salima.

“Most of the ingredients for Tamu-Tamu drink come from the vegetation. We, therefore, have joined the initiative in which we have planted 10,000 seedlings so far,” he said.

The council aims to plant more trees to ensure that nature is restored and has urged people to take on the responsibility of caring for the trees.