Ethiopia’s flagship Green Legacy Initiative is beginning to deliver economic benefits beyond climate and land restoration, with expanding forests creating better habitats for bees and supporting rising honey production across the country.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the country’s large-scale tree-planting programme is increasingly strengthening beekeeping by improving the ecosystems that sustain bee populations. The development positions Green Legacy honey as one of the initiative’s first visible, income-generating outcomes.
Trees, bees and rural livelihoods
In messages shared on social media, Abiy linked ecosystem restoration directly to improved honey production, arguing that healthier forests provide the food sources and habitats needed for bees to thrive.
The economic implications are significant. Ethiopia is already one of Africa’s largest honey producers and possesses substantial untapped potential in both honey and beeswax production. Researchers have long argued that beekeeping should be integrated into landscape restoration programmes to maximise both environmental and livelihood benefits.
The Green Legacy Initiative appears to be moving in that direction. Since its launch in 2019, the campaign has mobilised millions of Ethiopians to plant more than 48 billion multi-purpose seedlings, including indigenous and fruit tree species. The government aims to surpass 56 billion trees after the current planting season and is working towards a longer-term target of 65 billion trees ahead of hosting COP32 in Addis Ababa in 2027.
The 2026 planting campaign, launched in Bishoftu under the theme “Let Us Plant Hope”, is targeting more than eight billion additional seedlings nationwide.
From climate flagship to agribusiness platform
The government increasingly presents Green Legacy as both an environmental programme and a rural enterprise platform.
Officials credit the initiative with landscape restoration, expanded fruit cultivation and new livelihood opportunities ranging from nursery management and seedling production to beekeeping and other green-economy activities.
For smallholders and cooperatives, improved bee habitats around woodlands and orchards can generate higher honey volumes while also supporting crop pollination and agricultural productivity. This creates both direct income from apiaries and indirect gains through better farm yields.
For agribusiness investors, the signal is equally clear. As restored landscapes mature, they can help de-risk supply for honey processors, exporters and producers of higher-value bee products.
Research consistently highlights Ethiopia’s significant potential in honey and beeswax value chains, provided producers gain better access to markets, finance and technology. The continued expansion of forests and multi-purpose tree species under Green Legacy should improve forage availability and support more commercial hive operations and stable production over time.
For investors and agrifood companies, Green Legacy honey increasingly represents more than an environmental co-benefit. It is becoming an investable segment within Ethiopia’s broader green economy, sitting at the intersection of climate resilience, rural development and export-oriented agribusiness.
The next phase will likely shift attention from the number of trees planted to the quality of restored landscapes, the integration of beekeeping activities and the development of market infrastructure capable of scaling Ethiopia’s honey industry into a larger, export-grade value chain.
