TECA (Technologies and practices for small agricultural producers) is FAO’s free web based online information and communication platform for small holder farmers. TECA provides a knowledge base of validated agricultural practices and technologies from all over the world and aims to collect, document more agricultural technologies and practices and facilitate the exchange of these practices among different stakeholders in agriculture.

TECA’s knowledge base provides agricultural practices which (i) are public, (ii) easy to understand for rural users, and (iii) have been previously applied by small farmers and producers. 

TECA’s exchange groups are online forums to discuss agricultural challenges and solutions with practitioners, producers and experts. The upcoming moderated online discussions on “Sustainable Farming through Agroecology” will be hosted in the Farmer Innovation Exchange group: http://teca.fao.org/discussion/sustainable-farming-through-agroecology.

The discussion will be divided into three phases:

1. Introduction: 23^rd January 2017 to 10^th February, 2017

Four introductory posts will provide some background information on agroecology, in particular:

• Need of sustainable farming and agroecology
• Agroecology and sustainable agroecosystems
• Elements of agroecology
• Agroecological farmer practices

The aim of the introductory post is to ensure a common understanding of agroecology among the participants and offer the opportunity to share experiences and ask questions to our technical experts.

2. Agroecology and soil health: 20^th February to 12^th March, 2017
3. Agroecology and nutrition: 20^th March to 10^th April, 2017

Many successful experiences have already been documented on TECA (http://teca.fao.org/technologies) and on Agroecology Knowledge hub (http://www.fao.org/agroecology/knowledge/practices/). Based on these experiences and others, a three week discussion forum will be held to share knowledge and experiences on agroecology and successful agroecological practices and approaches.

You are invited to share your knowledge and experiences on agroecology and the successful agroecological farming practices and approaches. Contributions will be consolidated in a TECA summary sheet which will be posted on FAO TECA website.

To participate in the discussion you have to be registered on the TECA platform: http://teca.fao.org/user/register

Please contact Nedaa.Amraish@fao.org if you have problems during the registration process or while accessing your account. For any further information please contact teca@fao.org