In much of Brazil eating habits are becoming increasingly modernized. The Food Acquisition Program has been encouraging the diversification of crop production as a means to address emerging issues associated with this modernization, such as environmental degradation and overnutrution.

The Problem

In many regions of Brazil, the “modernization of agriculture” has led farmers to specialize in the production of a limited number of commodity crops and to adopt unsustainable agricultural practices based on the intensive use of pesticides and other chemical inputs, which, in turn, has exposed these families to economic, social and health vulnerability. Furthermore, food customs and local cultures associated with these foods that have been lost over the generations because of the negative perceptions associated with them, such as the perception that traditional foods are "old fashioned."

The Project

The Food Acquisition Program (PAA) encourages the diversification of crop production, thus connecting agricultural supply to a diversified demand, and works to rescue, recover, and commercially promote forgotten regional and local products, some of which had never been marketed before. 

The PAA allows the purchase, donation and exchange of traditional and local seed varieties, as well as commercial non-hybrid seeds. The aim is to rescue and preserve biodiversity, stimulate the production and exchange of such seeds and promote the autonomy and sustainability of farming practices.

Impact

• In families producing food for the PAA, research has shown increases in dietary diversity, as well as in quantity and quality of food for self-consumption. 
• In schools, the PAA now ensures that fresh, locally-produced, often organic food is made available in the canteens, as opposed to the processed meals that were previously served and that were incompatible with regional food cultures. Preliminary observations seem to confirm that the initiative is contributing to the attendance, performance and well-being of school children.

Lessons Learned

Unfortunately, information gaps and limited access to public institutions – an expression of the social inequalities that still prevail in Brazilian society – prevent farmers from fully benefiting from the program. It should still be highlighted, however, that the PAA has demonstrated that it is a powerful tool to promote market access by family farmers while supporting ecologically-friendly agriculture.