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Desmond Nleya, Chronicle Reporter

NYARADZO Life Assurance Company is targeting to plant half a billion trees by 2026, having planted 30 million over the past few years.

This was revealed by the company’s Bulawayo branch manager Mr Habakuk Garakara at a belated tree planting day held at Khumalo Barracks also known as Headquarters One Infantry Brigade in Bulawayo, yesterday.

“We are targeting about 500 million trees by 2026 and we have to date planted 30 million trees around the country,” said Mr Garakara.

He said the company adopted the name, “Friends of the environment” because of its contribution in planting trees to help curb deforestation in the country. “We are the Friends of the environment and we have been partnering various organisations including the Zimbabwe National Army in ensuring that we preserve our forestry. Since 2010, we have been having such programmes and we are now having ten nursery points around the country,” he said.

One Infantry Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Josphat Kudumba said the prevailing electricity load shedding in the country was causing more deforestation as many households resort to use of firewood for energy. “Due to the prevailing situation of load shedding and the current prices of gas, most if not all households both in urban and rural areas have resorted to the use of firewood as a source of energy. This translates to more trees being cut down each year and eventually degenerate into deforestation,” he said.

Brig-Gen Kudumba emphasised the need to preserve forests saying they also contribute to employment creation. “Trees help in cleaning the air we breathe, provides habitat to 80 percent of the world terrestrials. Forests provide jobs to over one million people and more than 25 percent of medicines come from trees,” he said.

The Commander said the 2019 tree was an indigenous fruit tree known as granite garcia in English or umkhemeswane in Ndebele and matunduru in Shona which is used for fermentation of traditional brewed beer. “The tree produces reddish edible sour fruits which can be used as a catalyst in fermentation especially milk and traditional beer,” said Brig-Gen Kudumba.

The commemoration, held in partnership with the Forestry Commission and Nyaradzo Life Assurance Company, ran under the theme “Fruit trees for food security and nutrition” and was attended by officers, men and women of the Zimbabwe National Army. ZNA commemorates tree planting day from January 31 to February 7 while the National Tree Planting Day is held on the first Saturday of December every year. — @DesmondNdazi.