Life Lab a pioneer in organic hydroponics in Lebanon

L’Orient le Jour shed light in its yesterday’s issue on hydroponics which is  an agricultural technology that is based on growing plants without soil, through using water, minerals and nutrients, and air pumps; it is mostly based on a network of pipes arranged vertically or horizontally. In this context, the newspaper presented some agricultural projects in Lebanon which rely on that technology; Ali Makhzum the owner of the project ‘Life Lab’ https://www.facebook.com/LifeLabBD, stated that this type of cultivation even though it requires a large capital at its start, provides a high quality yield crop year round since space can be utilized as much as possible, which can increase the amount of the crop yield; also it saves water and does not demand much labor force. Also Makhzum pointed out that plants grow in a healthy environment and consequently there is no need for pesticides. It is worth noting that ‘Life Lab’ is an emerging enterprise, whose project won the Hyundai Startup competition in 2015, and it is a farm consisting of agricultural tents with a horizontal hydroponics system located in Al-Koora, its total area is approximately 400 square meters. Also Tarek Al-Khury, another owner of a farm in Al-Koora, emphasized that he started first in cultivating organic products then he shifted to this agricultural technology, after hearing about the successful experience of Life Lab. The total area of Al-Khury farm is 100 square meters and he pointed out that the costs of the primary supplies such as pipes and minerals are high around $175 per one cubic meter, but he emphasized that he will surely compensate for these costs on the first harvest season. (L’Orient le Jour, January 18, 2017)