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Hydroponic System image via Shutterstock

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When the words “agriculture” and “technology” are used in the same sentence, people usually conjure up images of huge tractors, advanced combine harvesters, or agricultural aircrafts for crop dusting or aerial topdressing…

But that’s not what LifeLab is about. The first-prize winner of the Hyundai Startup Competition, organized in collaboration with ArabNet, aims to increase crop yield through hydroponics, a low-impact, low-cost, and low-emission agricultural method.

A Sustainable Agricultural System

On the low-tech level, LifeLab “farms” consist of greenhouses with vertical  hydroponic systems designed mainly with locally sourced materials. For now, these farms can grow over 30 varieties of crops classified as leafy greens and herbs (mint, lettuce, etc.), cherry tomatoes, strawberries, etc. These crops can be grown year-round, regardless of the season, using nutrient solutions derived from natural sources (such as seaweed extract).

Eventually, farms will be able to grow more diversified crops - but not trees, said Ali Makhzoum, founder of LifeLab, explaining that they take up too much vertical space.

He said that the platforms they have designed are computerized and automated with a user-friendly interface. Each farm is connected to LifeLab’s central server. A network of local sensors measures a series of variables which are continuously sent to the company's server via cloud. This allows the team to monitor the farms in real time, and intervene to solve problems either online or on site as deemed necessary.

The farms use up to 95% less water than soil-based systems, and produce 10 times more. There is no need for pesticides since the farms operate in a totally controlled environment, thus producing healthy food which can be sold at a premium price.

“Part of our design methodology focuses on making our platforms continuously upgradable, so as our technology advances, we would be able to easily upgrade all of our partner farms accordingly,” said Makhzoum.

Higher Yield and Higher Income

One of the main problems that small farmers with limited means face, is that most commercial agriculture can be time and labor intensive. Competition from cheap imported produce, drives many farmers to seek expensive ways of increasing their harvest, or simply quit to avoid accumulating further debts.

LifeLab started off as a research project to find a sustainable solution to this problem. “I was sick and tired of seeing a country with so much fertile land and over 15 rivers survive with such an underdeveloped, unproductive agro sector," said Makhzoum.

So he took things into his own hands  and set out to disrupt the sector from within.In this scenario, it made sense to him that automating large parts of the process would reduce costs and increase yields: “commercial agriculture 2.0,” as Makhzoum calls it.

In 2013, the startup received an innovation grant from the Euro-Lebanese Center for Industrial Modernization (ELCIM). The same year, an additional angel investment from veteran investor Walid Hanna (Managing Partner at Middle East Venture Partners - MEVP) allowed Makhzoum to dedicate himself fully to the project.

With the help of a team of friends, engineers, and consultants, Makhzoum worked on developing his idea and creating early prototype models. Finally, he achieved a satisfactory workable version of his product, which he installed on his family farm in his native village in South Lebanon.

What started as a self-funded research project 5 years ago has now become a research and development company employing 12 members (including a group of engineers, agro-food and hydroponics specialists, product designers) on any given project. The company specializes in designing and operating fully automated hydroponic systems to support farmers in Lebanon and help them tackle food sovereignty.

Despite the constant need for electricity for artificial lighting and the operation of the platform Makhzoum claims that his system uses 60% less energy than other systems of the same size due to the utilization of low power components, and can be run on battery packs with could eventually be charged via renewable energy (solar/wind).  

High start-up costs ($1,000/m2 for the first 100 m2) may make such systems seem unaffordable for small farmers, but according to Makhzoum, the high return on investment can compensate for the high cost and break even can be achieved in a little over a year.

LifeLabs collaborates closely with the farmers, offering them training on how to use the platform as well as 24-hour maintenance to mitigate risks. The company is even involved in selling the produce on their behalf, thus saving them the burden of marketing.

“Our farmers and buyers are both involved in controlling the trade process. The buyers tell us what varieties (and how much of each) they need in the coming few months, and we split those and allocate them among our farmers, who grow the pre-ordered crops and hand them to us upon maturity to distribute to our buyers,” explained Makhzoum.

Connecting Farms Across the MENA

In addition to the Hyundai Startup Competition, LifeLab has won half a dozen awards and prizes in the past two years, including first place in the BADER-World Bank Startup Challenge, and  a grant from the Kafalat iSME program.

LifeLab’s only direct competitors are international companies with limited presence in the region. These solutions are mostly very expensive, and maintenance support is not readily available.In the MENA, nobody is currently actively involved in designing and building commercial hydroponics systems.

According to Makhzoum, the system can be reproduced almost anywhere, namely in cities where the availability of arable land is more of an issue, and in neighboring arid countries. "We want to build a viable seed ecosystem of small and medium-sized super farms spread out across the country, and then move out to build us some entire climate-controlled cities devoted to farming in the arid countries that surround us in the MENA region."

“The biggest challenge at this point is awareness. Many people still don’t know what hydroponic agriculture is, and some of those who do don’t always have all their facts right. This also limits our options when it comes to hiring agro engineers, since very few local graduates have significant knowledge of hydroponics and even fewer have any hands-on experience working on a hydro culture system,” he said.