ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia launched a national campaign on Thursday to plant 700 million trees in one day as part of an ambitious conservation initiative that aims to plant 50 billion trees by 2026.

The reforestation campaign has been a personal project of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since 2019.

Tesfahun Gobezay, state minister for the Ethiopian Government Communication Services, told reporters before 6 a.m. local time that some 355 million seedlings had already been planted by 14.9 million Ethiopians.

It was not possible to verify the government’s figures. Ethiopia has a population of more than 120 million people.

“We kicked off this year’s one-day green Legacy planting early this morning,” Abiy said on social media platform X. “Our goal for the 7th year is 700 million seedlings. Let’s achieve it together.”

Authorities say some 40 billion tree seedlings have been planted since 2019. The target for 2025 is 7.5 billion trees.

Abiy took power in 2018 as a reformist. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with neighboring Eritrea but a war that erupted shortly afterward in the Ethiopian region of Tigray damaged his reputation as a peacemaker. He now he faces another rebellious uprising in the Amhara region.

Many public offices are closed Thursday to make time for tree planting. Thousands of public servants have been dispatched across the east African nation to help plant seedlings made available through the official bureaucracy.

At the break of dawn, many were seen planting trees in the capital Addis Ababa. At a site in Jifara Ber dozens of people were involved, including children.

Almaz Tadu, a 72-year-old grandmother, brought her grandchildren to a tree planting event she said reunites her with neighbors.

“I have come with my mother and this is my third time planting trees,” said 13-year-old student Nathenael Behailu. “I dream of seeing a green environment for my country.”

Another Addis Ababa resident, Ayanaw Asrat, said he has heeded the call for the last three years. “I came early and I have so far planted 15 seedlings. I am very happy to contribute to creating greener areas across Addis,” he said.

Abiy himself was active in Jimma, the largest city in the southwestern region of Oromia. Cabinet ministers were sent to other regions to support local officials.

Kitessa Hundera, a forest ecologist at Jimma University, told The Associated Press that a “noble” reforestation initiative was being carried out by non-experts who could not define conservation objectives regarding site selection and other technical issues.

He cited concern over mixing exotic species with indigenous ones and the apparent failure to report the survival rate of seedlings planted over the years. He also doubted it was possible to plant 700 million seedlings in one day.

“Planting 700 million seedlings in one day needs the participation of about 35 million people, each planting 20 seedlings, which is practically impossible,” he said.