In this testimonial video clip, farmer Fayssal Al-Ek, explains about the benefits obtained from the PRIMA funded hydroponic and aquaponic system installed in the mountainous area of Akkar Al-Atika. The facility extends over an area of 63 square metres and can accommodate 1000 seedlings. He remarks that it would take 200 square metres of open field to accommodate the same number of seedlings. Although the initial investment cost is high, he expects a full recovery wof the capital cost already within one to two years. This he ascribes to the fact that the system enables to have from 8 to 9 harvests per year, depending on the weather conditions. As there is no direct access to water in this area, water was brought in from a spring which is located 7 to 8 kilometres away. Once up and running, he only needs to bring a gallon of water from home to top up the water in the system. The system uses 90 percent less water compared to the cultivation of vegetables in open field conditions! The hydroponic system needs nutrient input whereas the aquaponic system gets all the required nutrients from the fish that are farmed in fish tanks. Fayssal points out that also the fish can be eaten, and since it is high in proteins, it replaces meat, which is beneficial especially in the wintertime. Fayssal is clearly hands-on and walks us through the entire process of preparing seed trays and putting in seeds, showing us how the seedlings are transferred to the hydroponic system and the instruments he uses to check on the water quality.
Fayssal Al-Ek is an active member of the Mara-Mediterra Living Lab established in mountainous Akkar Al-Atika, overseen by the Lebanese University in Tripoli, Lebanon.

The clip can be viewed with subtitles in English, French, Arabic, Greek and Turkish.