District Residents participate in identifying seedlings for tree species during the tree planting campaign at Yumbe District HQs.

By Achidri Akim

 As conversations on the impact of deforestation continue to take a center stage in the global arena, the story in Yumbe District is not different.

Interestingly, today as Yumbe District Local Government forestry arm embarked on an event to give out tree seedlings to the district residents, among those who turned up, voices of many heard attributing the current food crisis to deforestation were so common.

The event whose main objective is forest cover restoration and environment safe guard saw hundreds flock Yumbe District headquarters to collect tree seedlings for replanting.

A good number of those who received the tree seedlings upon being interviewed, associate the current food crisis with low rainfall which according to them is as a result of deforestation.

On the same note, Oluka Anthony the former local council three chairperson Midigo sub county attributes the phenomena of farmlands increasingly becoming infertile to deforestation an act that he says leaves soil bear and prone to erosion

The beneficiaries were full of praise towards Yumbe District Local Government and central government for supporting them with tree seedlings as they expressed hope for a hunger free world.

Ambaga Kemis the District Forest Officer who describes the turn up for the tree seedlings as unprecedented says people shouldn’t only consider going for tree species with short maturity period for commercial purpose but equally plant to protect the environment.

 World over, climate change has left significant foot print in forms of hunger, floods, diseases and death, this according to experts is driven by adverse human activities on environment including deforestation.