South Africa planted 7.1 million trees in six months — fruit trees for townships first

South Africans have planted 7,134,711 trees since April 2026 under President Cyril Ramaphosa's One Billion Trees Programme — government, businesses, traditional leaders and ordinary citizens digging in together. The emphasis is on fruit trees like citrus, avocado and grapes: trees that feed households, support school food gardens and can turn surplus produce into income, in a country where apartheid-era planning left townships with far fewer trees than suburbs.