PROTECHMED: Lebanon’s pilot role in Developing Smarter Greenhouses Across the Mediterranean

Through PROTECHMED, Lebanon’s Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) is upgrading an existing greenhouse in the Bekaa Valley with smart technologies to improve water and fertilizer efficiency, climate resilience and tomato production. The team is exploring innovative solutions adapted to local needs while contributing to more sustainable greenhouse farming across the region.

Publication Date
15/10/2026
Reading Time
3 minutes

How Lebanon’s PROTECHMED pilot aims to use smarter greenhouse technologies to improve resource efficiency, climate resilience and productivity.

The PROTECHMED Inception Camp, held in Ragusa, Sicily, from 3 to 5 June 2026, helped LARI explore solutions for upgrading Lebanon’s greenhouse pilot. Exchanges with researchers, technology providers and Mediterranean partners brought new ideas into the team’s planning.

“We have a lot of comments and new ideas to be integrated into the tender.”

— Randa Massaad, Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI)

From an existing greenhouse to a smarter pilot

Located at LARI’s station in the Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese pilot will renovate an existing greenhouse, with planned improvements in irrigation and integrated pest management. LARI prepared a tender with private-sector input and waited until after the Camp to consider additional ideas before finalising it.

LARI’s wider approach includes irrigation and fertigation, water and nutrient management, and technologies adapted to local needs. Its team highlights water scarcity, soil quality and climate variability as challenges requiring practical, adaptable solutions.

The pilot will demonstrate data-driven tomato production in a soilless coco-coir system, integrating environmental sensors, automated irrigation and fertigation, climate and ventilation control, digital decision-support tools, and digital IPM. Real-time monitoring of temperature, humidity, CO₂, solar radiation, substrate moisture, EC, pH and drainage will support optimized resource use, while smart pest monitoring will enable early detection and targeted intervention. The pilot aims to improve water and fertilizer efficiency, reduce pesticide use, strengthen climate resilience, and enhance sustainable tomato productivity through connected and intelligent greenhouse technologies.

Learning from Sicily

The Camp strengthened LARI’s understanding of technologies and environmentally friendly practices that could be adapted to Lebanon. For Ziad Farhat of Quinta Group, a Lebanese greenhouse manufacturer, integrating solar panels with greenhouse structures was a particularly interesting possibility to explore.

A key lesson from the Sicilian exchange on protected horticulture was the integration of environmental monitoring, automated climate control, and precision fertigation into a single digital management system, shaping the technical design of the Lebanese pilot.

Voices from the Territory

“Today I was impressed by agrivoltaics—the solar panels combined with the greenhouse system. I think this can bring added value for us, especially because we manufacture greenhouses. Perhaps we can adapt our greenhouses or adjust them to add solar panels to the system. This is something we could explore in Lebanon.”

Ziad Farhat — Quinta Group

“Our pilot is located in the Bekaa Valley, at our station. It is an existing greenhouse that needs renovation and a lot of work. Through this project, we prepared a tender with the private sector to transform it from an old greenhouse into a smart one, focusing on irrigation and integrated pest management.”

Randa Massaad — LARI

Bringing knowledge to growers

LARI plans to organise field pilot trials, farmer training and technical support to help put new technologies into practice. Cooperation with farmers and protected-cultivation experts will help adapt solutions to local conditions.

Workshops, social media, newsletters and community events will also share knowledge and project outputs with farmers, institutions and agricultural policymakers.

Farmers will participate during the testing and validation phase of the pilot, through field visits, demonstrations, and practical sessions, and will provide feedback through structured discussions, questionnaires, and direct consultations on the performance and usability of the technologies.

Looking Ahead

Through the pilot and its supporting activities, LARI aims to turn Mediterranean knowledge exchange into practical benefits for Lebanese growers.

Currently the pilot is at the preparation and detailed design stage, with the existing greenhouse and fertigation systems being assessed for integration with smart technologies. Following technical finalization, tendering, installation, and commissioning, the system will be tested under tomato production conditions. Water and fertilizer use, drainage, EC/pH, climate, pest and disease incidence, IPM interventions, and yield will be monitored against baseline data to assess improvements in resource efficiency, productivity, and sustainability.

“We will work to strengthen cooperation between farmers, researchers and research institutions, exchange knowledge and translate it into concrete actions on the ground. We believe that through communication and cooperation, we can help build a more sustainable and resilient future for Lebanon’s agricultural sector.”

— Ahmad Bitar, LARI communications manager, translated from Arabic

Last Update

15/10/2026