Mohammad donates 35,000 palm seedlings to Liwa

Abu Dhabi: General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Monday donated 35,000 palm seedlings to the Liwa Date Festival.

The palm seedlings are to be distributed to both winners and participants in the festival.

The order, which came during Shaikh Mohammad's visit to the festival, is in recognition of organisers and participants' interest in preserving the UAE's heritage.

Keen interest

Shaikh Mohammad's gesture is in line with the charitable initiative established and supported by the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

This is now being pursued and implemented also by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The gesture is also in line with Shaikh Mohammad's keenness and continued efforts in supporting the cultivation of the palm tree and its varieties by increasing the number being grown across the UAE.

The festival is being organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage. During his visit to the festival, Shaikh Mohammad inspected the pavilions in the main exhibition, in which government bodies, private companies and the women's union took part. The pavilions were also occupied by popular markets.

Shaikh Mohammad was also briefed on the efficiency of police dogs in their ability to detect red palm weevil infection on the tree's trunk — a successful trial carried out by the police in co-operation with the Western Region municipality.

The trial was considered the first of its kind in the region.

Shaikh Mohammad also visited an old house model displayed by Afra Mohammad Al Hameli. She briefed Shaikh Mohammad on the main components used to make the house, which consisted of a room made mostly out of mud and stone, and windows and doors made out of palm tree branches.