Potential of Public Purchases as Markets for Family Farming: An Analysis of Brazilian School Feeding Program Between 2011 and 2014
Abstract In 2009, the Brazilian School Feeding Program (PNAE) had a major change, in defining that, at least, 30% of National Fund for Education Development (FNDE) resources for school feeding should be used to purchase food from family farmers. This is an important innovation that puts the PNAE as a driver for local production and, so, contributes to strengthening markets for family farmers and to development. In this context, the paper seeks to build an overview of the participation of family farming in school feeding (FNDE data) analyzing their national and regional performance. It is important to investigate to what extent municipalities have been compliant with the Law and have promoted markets for family farmers. Concurrently, it is important to analyze if the size of the municipalities (considering the funds transferred by the Federal Government) is an element that influences this performance. The results show that, for example, the participation of family farming in school feeding is still below the minimum set by law, but there are growth prospects. Differences among Brazilian regions were also observed, especially regarding the South, although states from other regions show high percentages of participation of family farming.