TECA is an FAO initiative that aims at improving access to information and knowledge about available proven technologies in order to enhance their adoption in agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry thus contributing to food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

Through improved access to information about proven technologies TECA supports the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) and contributes to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  

A major stumbling block in the development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry across the developing world is the lack of application of well proven available technologies that have made significant contributions to agricultural development elsewhere. Lack of awareness of and easy access to information on already established and proven technologies is a constraint to their adoption. Very often, established technologies are not well documented and experiences of their application rarely adequately described. On the other hand, information on proven technologies produced by the international and national research and development organizations is dispersed. Furthermore, the capacity for the assessment and/or the modification of particular technologies to suit local conditions is often a main constraint in the technology transfer process. In order to fill these gaps, TECA has adopted the following objectives:

• capitalize on available knowledge and thereby avoid duplication and contribute to the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the national agricultural research systems;
• support the dissemination and application of proven technologies;
• facilitate informed decision-making and the active involvement of beneficiaries in the choice of technological interventions;
• safeguard individual and organizational knowledge.

TECA is a platform for a network of agricultural technology repositories where knowledge is maintained, accessed and shared. TECA provides repositories hosted by interested partners with a common electronic infrastructure for accessing and distributing information and resources. This interactive knowledge-based information management system allows for dynamic content generation and decentralized management and it has been designed with a strong adaptation capacity to the different needs in each region. TECA offers an array of tools including a database where technology repositories can manage and systematize their own proven technologies. It also offers access to other databases. TECA works under two guiding principles:

• the validation of technologies facilitates their dissemination, adaptation and adoption across broadly similar biophysical, social economic and human environments and farming systems; 
• technologies must be economically and socially acceptable, easily adaptable to the biophysical environment and environmentally friendly.

TECA efforts to improve the access to information and knowledge and support the dissemination and application of proven technologies; facilitate the decision-making process and safeguard individual and organizational knowledge are addressed to:

• problem-solving, adaptive agricultural research;
• national research and extension services;
• NGOs;
• farmer associations;
• rural development projects and activities with information and technology transfer components.