(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Peninsula

Doha: The Ministry of Municipality and Environment represented by the Agricultural Research Department has started distributing seedlings of a wild plant, panicum, to winter campers for planting at surrounding areas of the camps.

Panicum is very useful for Qatar and other regional counties as it provides protein-rich fodders for animals, stabilises moving sand dunes and rehabilitates the environment, said the Ministry.

The initiative is part of a massive plan of the Ministry to sow varieties of seeds and cultivate seedlings of wild plant in deserts, grasslands, and shrublands with shrinking vegetation to help prevent desertification across the country.

Lauding the move of the Ministry, a beneficiary camper has tweeted the pictures of panicum seedlings that he received under the initiative and planted at a winter camp. 'Good initiative launched by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment for providing seeds, seedlings of wild plants to campers to cultivate around their camps, a citizen has tweeted.

The Agricultural Research Department appreciated the environment activists from citizens and expatriate who showed interest in ongoing campaign of the Ministry ‘Ma'n Le'bar Ajmal' (together for more beautiful desert land with green patch) and supporting it morally and physically. Under the campaign about 4,000 packets of seeds and 11,000 seedlings will be distributed among the campers.

One of the main objectives of the campaign is to work to raise the ground stock of seeds because the seeds of wild plants have the ability to stay in the soil for up to more than 15 years.

Panicum, locally known as 'Al Thamam, is being cultivated for fodder for animals as an alternative of commercial hybrid grass in Qatar and other regional countries, said the Ministry in a statement. Panicum also plays key role in rehabilitating the environment.

The General Authority for Agricultural and Fisheries Affairs, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and private farms are collecting and producing seeds of panicum plant because of its various benefits like food, fodder for animals, said the Ministry adding that the plant also help fix moving sands and rehabilitate the environment.

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