Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is leading a campaign to plant 6 billion trees across the country this year.

It forms part of his 'Green Legacy' project to promote eco-tourism and combat the effects of climate change.

The initiative highlights his focus on the environment ahead of the elections.

At the launch in a meeting hall filled with freshly watered seedlings Tuesday, Abiy encouraged Ethiopians to plant billions of trees.

"These media will now prove if they're truly friends of Ethiopia. If they preach about the Green Legacy at that level, then it'll reveal they can balance between the good and the bad and don't hide the good. However, if they don't care about the Green Legacy but only talk about our killings, then it'll be a platform that clearly shows their identity and intentions", the 2019 Noble Peace Prize winner said.

He said the Green Legacy project which begins Tuesday will continue until September and October.

Minister for Agriculture Omar Husen said that over 10 billion trees were planted in the first two years of the 'Green Legacy' project. The aim is to plant 20 billion trees by 2022.

This year, the Ethiopian government also plans to send one billion seedlings to neighboring countries.