Achieving Africa's Greening Goals Starts with Local Nursery Entrepreneurs

Before a tree can be planted, it must first be grown. That simple idea has stayed with me ever since. Across the continent, governments, development agencies and environmental organisations continue setting bold restoration targets. The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, AFR100, aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 through commitments made by 34 African countries. South Africa has also embraced ambitious greening goals through the Presidential One Billion Trees Programme, with a flagship target of planting 10 million trees on Heritage Day, 24 September 2026. These commitments represent hundreds of millions of trees.

The challenge is not finding land to restore. The challenge is producing enough healthy, high quality planting material to make those commitments possible. Africa has shown that when it believes in an industry, it invests at scale. Companies such as MTN Group generate more than R200 billion in annual revenue while connecting millions of people across the continent. The Dangote Group has invested billions of dollars in industries that drive economic growth across Africa. These examples show what is possible when governments, financiers and entrepreneurs work towards a shared vision.

Greening the continent deserves the same level of commitment. If Africa is serious about restoring degraded landscapes, improving food security and building climate resilience, we must begin by investing in nursery entrepreneurs. Most greening programmes allocate the largest share of funding to planting campaigns while giving far less attention to the businesses that produce the plants and the local partners responsible for planting them.

Yet every successful greening project begins months, sometimes years, before the first planting day. It begins with seed collectors identifying healthy parent trees. It continues with nursery teams cleaning, storing and propagating seed. It depends on skilled growers managing irrigation, nutrition, pests and diseases while producing healthy plants capable of surviving in the landscape. Without this work, there are no trees to plant. South Africa provides a clear example of this challenge. Achieving the country's billion tree ambition will require far greater nursery production capacity than currently exists.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

images: nguni nursery, makhanda, Eastern Cape South Africa

The numbers tell the story. South Africa's 7 state nurseries at Bloemhof, Mahikeng, QwaQwa, Rusplaas, Ulundi, Upington and Wolseley cover a combined 18.1 hectares. Together, they have the capacity to produce about 880 000 plants a year. According to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment's briefing to Parliament's Portfolio Committee in May 2026, actual production stands at only 384 291 plants a year, less than half their potential. At the same time, only 36 of the 56 funded staff positions are filled.

The private sector carries far greater production capacity. Some of South Africa's largest commercial nurseries each produce volumes that rival or exceed the entire state nursery system. This highlights an important reality. South Africa's greatest capacity to grow trees already sits with entrepreneurial nursery businesses rather than government infrastructure. Even if we combine public and private production, reaching 100 million quality trees a year would require a major expansion of nursery infrastructure, skilled growers and sustained long term investment. The urgency becomes even clearer when we consider the immediate target of planting 10 million trees on Heritage Day in September 2026.

To achieve this, nurseries would have needed to begin growing about 833 000 seedlings every month for the preceding 12 months while continuing to supply municipalities, restoration projects, landscapers, farmers and commercial clients. Every tree planting campaign begins in a nursery. Without investment in local nursery entrepreneurs in rural areas, townships and peri urban communities, even the most ambitious greening targets will remain out of reach.

This is where local nursery entrepreneurs become indispensable. On the continent we have thousands of small and medium sized nurseries already exist, many owned by local families, community organisations and young entrepreneurs. With the right investment, technical support and long term purchasing agreements, these businesses can become the backbone of Africa's greening economy.

In South Africa, this opportunity is even more significant. Much of the country's mineral wealth and many productive commercial farms are still not owned by indigenous people. The green economy offers a different path, one where local entrepreneurs can own businesses, create jobs and build wealth through ecological restoration, food production and climate action. Investing in nursery entrepreneurs is not only an environmental decision. It is an investment in economic inclusion, local ownership and Africa's future. The benefits extend far beyond tree planting. A nursery creates permanent employment instead of seasonal work.

It develops horticultural skills that remain within the community. It creates opportunities for seed collectors, transport companies, irrigation suppliers and manufacturers of growing media and containers. Most importantly, it keeps investment circulating within local economies instead of importing planting material from distant suppliers.

At Nguni Nursery, we have supplied more than 1 000 000 indigenous trees in since 2017 for restoration, conservation and landscaping projects while restoring 162 hectares of degraded kaolin quarry land in the Eastern Cape. Our experience has shown that investing in nursery capacity delivers benefits that extend far beyond planting trees. Nurseries also play a critical role in food security.

Every commercial orchard begins with healthy fruit trees. Every successful vegetable farmer depends on strong seedlings. Investing in local nurseries means increasing access to better planting material while strengthening local food systems and improving household incomes. Quality matters as much as quantity. Too often, success is measured by the number of trees planted instead of the number that survive. A healthy, well grown seedling with the correct genetics, a balanced root system and proper hardening will always outperform poor quality planting stock. The economics are equally compelling. A batch of 500 high quality seedlings with an 80% survival rate costs less per surviving tree than 1 000 poor quality seedlings with a 15% survival rate once planting, transport and site preparation are included.

Cheap seedlings often become the most expensive trees in the landscape.

For too long, nurseries have been treated as suppliers to restoration projects. They are much more than that. They are centres of innovation, conservation, training and enterprise. They safeguard indigenous genetics. They develop propagation techniques. They create green businesses and provide the foundation upon which successful restoration is built. Achieving Africa's greening goals does not start on planting day. It starts months earlier in locally owned nurseries where seeds become seedlings and entrepreneurs become the driving force behind restoration.

Before every tree planted, there must be someone who grew it. Africa's greening goals start with local nursery entrepreneurs.