Tree program impact by country
One Acre Fund runs scaled tree programs across eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Here we share the latest updates on each program from 2022.
Overall in 2023, we estimate that we've supported the planting of 74 million trees, with ~46% surviving to the one-year mark (seedlings can perish due to heat stress, animal grazing, pests, etc; all of which we’re working to mitigate through farmer training). These surviving trees will generate an estimated $189.4 million of asset value (beyond what non-participating farmers earn from their trees) which is a boost of $92 per participating farmer.
Explore the impact of our tree program in each country:
Trees planted in 2023: 22.2 million
Participating farmers: 405,000
Kenya, home to One Acre Fund’s most mature tree program, supported over 405,000 farmers in planting 22.2 million trees in 2023, well above our 20.1 million target. Building on momentum from 2022, trees were distributed largely via a network of 217 decentralized nurseries.
With an eye toward improving impact, the Kenya program began to encourage farmers to adopt larger numbers of trees in 2023, increasing the average planting rate from 31 to 55 trees per farmer. Species diversification continued to play an important role in the Kenya program’s efforts to increase scale and impact in 2023, with the program increasing the number of varieties in its portfolio from 9 to 15 species year over year. The program also significantly increased the scale of its fruit and nut tree distribution last year, distributing nearly 75,000 such seedlings (up from 7,000 seedlings in 2022).
One Acre Fund remains confident that the Kenya program will support the planting of 27.9 million trees in 2024, resulting in a significantly above target 75 million cumulative trees planted during the 2019-2024 period.
Trees planted in 2023: 18.3 million
Participating farmers: 771,000
In 2023, One Acre Fund’s Rwanda program supported 771,000 farmers in planting over 18.3 million trees.
Rwanda distributed 15 distinct tree varieties at scale in 2023, including over 320,000 seedlings of high-value horticultural species (primarily avocado). The vast majority of trees were produced through One Acre Fund’s 1,800+ highly efficient, small-scale decentralized nurseries (approximately 700 more than in 2022).
Excitingly, One Acre Fund and the Rwandan government, launched a unique agroforestry pilot last year. The initiative supports landscape restoration, aiming to achieve key environmental outcomes while generating farmer revenues through payments for ecosystem services.
The team has also taken key steps to strengthen its approach to tree impact measurement, rolling out more comprehensive tree monitoring and tracking.
Trees planted in 2023: 6+ million
Participating farmers: 180,000
In Burundi – the world’s poorest country in terms of GDP per capita – One Acre Fund once again surpassed its agroforestry targets for the year, supporting the planting of 6+ million trees by roughly 180,000 adopters, well above our initial projections of 3.5 million trees. This above target performance was driven by strong production across roughly 615 decentralized nurseries and continued strong demand for a scalable asset base among the country’s farmers.
One Acre Fund made progress in diversifying the country’s agroforestry offerings last year, distributing 7 distinct species. This included a targeted focus on high-value fruit trees, resulting in the planting of over 75,000 seedlings of 3 fruit tree species (avocado, macadamia, and Japanese plum).
Trees planted in 2023: 2.27 million
Participating farmers: 11,000
One Acre Fund's Tanzania program supported 11,000 farmers in planting 2.27 million trees. In 2023, the Tanzania team pivoted away from third-party vendors toward production and distribution through One Acre Fund’s decentralized nursery model, which has seen great success in other markets. As a result, approximately 70% of the seedlings distributed by the Tanzania programming 2023 were produced by a One Acre Fund-supported network of 139 entrepreneur-run nurseries.
Trees planted in 2023: 9 million
Participating farmers: 450,000
In 2023, Malawi continued to represent one of One Acre Fund’s fastest growing country contexts for tree planting, surpassing its annual target by over 1.5 million trees to support the planting of over 9 million seedlings. The program reached over 450,000 farmers through a combination of its core program and broader ‘whole market’ distribution via 1,000+ decentralized nurseries.
Malawi’s above-target 2023 performance was primarily driven by strong farmer demand and an above-target farmer planting rate. In 2023, the program distributed seedlings from 5 different species. Separate from its main tree distribution, the program also advanced its early-stage agroforestry carbon pilot, designed to connect farmers to revenues from formal carbon markets
Trees planted in 2023: 525,000
Participating farmers: 18,000
Uganda supported 18,000 farmers in planting 525,000 trees in 2023, above the 494,000 trees initially targeted for the year. As in 2022, the program exclusively distributed grevillea seedlings via 25 decentralized nurseries across 4 districts in 1 region. And in an effort to reach more farmers, the program also distributed trees via institutions including churches, schools, and the government’s Ministry of Environment, distributing an estimated 42,000 additional trees.
Beyond grevillea, the Uganda program continued to scale and refine its coffee extension program over the past year. In 2023, One Acre Fund enrolled 10,000 coffee farmers, supporting the sustainable preservation and management of 1.8 million coffee trees. By 2025, One Acre Fund plans to expand to 55 sites, reaching 30,000 farmers managing 7.2 million coffee trees annually.
Trees planted in 2023: 15 million
Participating farmers: 165,000
One Acre Fund’s Ethiopia program, which operates in partnership with the country’s government, supported approximately 165,000 farmers in planting over 15 million trees last year.
Trees planted in 2023: 2.7 million
Participating farmers: 111,000
2023 saw significant growth in One Acre Fund’s newest full country program in Nigeria, where the organization supported 111,000 farmers in planting nearly 2.7 million trees, surpassing initial targets of 100,000 farmers planting 2.4 million trees. These results translate to a powerful year-over-year scale increase of nearly 300% compared to 2022. This rapid expansion also reflects One Acre Fund’s focus on developing Nigeria’s underlying agroforestry infrastructure, including the program’s expansion from 72 nurseries in 2022 to 181 nurseries in 2023.
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