Linking school feeding programmes with local small-scale farmer production

4 February 2014. Brasilia. Brazil. The International Seminar PAA + Food Procurement in the International Year of Family Farming discussed the importance of the PAA programme for family farms and local development, its impact in promoting proper nutrition and its role as an international reference of public policy.

This International seminar brought together family farmers, chefs, representatives of international organizations and governments of five countries in Africa and eight from Latin America.
Programme

The Brazilian PAA programme inspired PAA Africa.
Through a multi-stakeholder approach which has partnered FAO, WFP, Brazilian experts and the UK Department for International Development, PAA Africa benefits from the expertise of these strategic partners in collaboration.

It comprehends five small-scale projects, which target vulnerable communities facing food and nutrition insecurity in Sub-Saharan countries, namely Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger and Senegal. 

The programme focuses on three main outputs:

1. Strengthen the knowledge-sharing and lessons learned to consolidate evidence and best practices, contributing to governments and international agencies to formulate action and partnership strategies in order to enhance local food purchase programmes for food assistance
2. Strengthen the productive capabilities of small-scale farmers’ associations selected to sell to WFP Purchase for Progress (P4P)
3. Implement or improve local food purchase programmes through direct contracts with smallholder associations for dietary diversification in school feeding programmes.

African participation in the panel: (see programme)

• Guidione Ezequiel Elias | Associação Agro- Pecúaria Tilimbique – Moçambique e 
• Eugénio Comé | Coordenador Nacional do Programa de Premiação do Melhor Produtor e Extensionista Nacional - Moçambique

On 5 February, foreign participants visited a family of farmers living in the Federal District, which sells food to the Food Acquisition Programme.

The international seminar was organized by MDS in partnership with the Ministries of Agrarian Development (MDA), External Relations (MRE) and with support from Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP).

The book “10 years of food purchase”, which documents some of the experiences to be presented during the seminar was released at the end of the event. A photographic exhibition on the theme was also be held on site.

The study Structured Demand and Smallholder Farmers in Brazil:the Case of PAA and PNAE (Oct. 2013) discusses the role played by two Brazilian policies,the Food Acquisition Programme (PAA) and the National School Feeding Programme(PNAE), in creating a structured demand for small farmers producing food crops. The two initiatives combined are believed to be the largest institutional procurement programme in the world that deliberately prioritizes purchasing from the most vulnerable of family farmers. These programmes also function as social safety nets that improve food security and guarantee food access for school-aged children and other vulnerable groups

Published on 10 Feb 2014 Mensagem do Diretor-geral da FAO, José Graziano da Silva, apresentada durante evento em comemoração aos 10 anos do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) no Brasil.


04.02.14: O Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) completou 10 anos. Para comemorar a data, um seminário internacional reuniu, em Brasília, agricultores familiares e autoridades em segurança

alimentar e nutricional.