LET US GREEN THE IDLE LAND

I want to be like Johnny appleseed. Remember him? Most probably those below 50 may not know him, unless you're a great reader.



Johnny appleseed was a famous character in US. He was the one who is responsible for introducing apples to US. He used to bring apple seeds wherever he went, spreading the seeds all over US.



He was also known for his bravery. One night before going to sleep, a group of Red Indians surrounded him with the intention of killing him for intruding into their territory. They waited it out till he fell asleep. They then saw him pulled out his knife, heat it in the burning campfire and then began searing it to blisters and wounds on his feet. He 'disinfect' his feet without even a word of pain thought the act itself was a painful one. Seeing his extra-ordinary bravery they left him alone and never again disturb him.



Why not we follow him? Let us plant fodder trees on our idle land. We have plenty of idle land around. Forget about economic size. Just plant something.



For fodder, anything edible to ruminants is fine with me. But, plant it seriously and in an amount sufficient for animal feed.



What I suggest is to plant them in hedges. That way it will be easy for users to harvest or animals to browse.



Trees that we could plant include (not exhaustive) : Hibiscus, Leucaena (petai belalang), Glyricidia, Moringa, Calliandra, Mulberry, Tembusu, Mengkudu, Tamarind, Acacia, etc etc



Let us green our countryside with fodder trees for our animals...

Let us reduce the number of stray animals criss-crossing our road system....