Public policies strengthen the relationship between family farming and food security in Brazilian schools – A case study of Paraíba state

We reviewed the historical pathway that paved the way for the creation and implementation of public policies for food security in Brazilian schools. We then analyzed the implementation of such policies in Paraíba state (northeastern Brazil) in terms of the investment in purchasing food from familiar agriculture, i.e. agricultural production in small farm units where the labor comes from the owner's family that lives on the farm and receives gross income from agriculture. We conducted this study to determine the extent to which public policies for food security in schools promote income to family farmers in Paraíba state. We obtained data from the Management and Accountability System (SIGPC) to quantify the municipalities in Paraíba state that comply with the national school feeding program denominated Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE). The fiscal years from 2015 to 2017 were used as a reference period because no data is available for the upcoming years. PNAE has been created to underpin programs offering free meals to school-age children, thus allowing for basic learning conditions while tackling hunger among social groups in poverty. PNAE became a public policy subsidiary of familiar agriculture through the Law 11,947 of 2009 which requires the minimal investment of 30% of PNAE funds to purchase food from family farmers. In Paraíba state, 80% of the municipalities buy food through PNAE. However, nearly 40% of the municipalities do not apply the minimum investment to purchase food from family farmers during the evaluated period (2011–2017). We identified that logistics and transportation of food coordinated by the school feeding councils are the main constraints for greater efficiency of the program. Despite such constraints, PNAE offers a unique opportunity to enhance human wellbeing by fostering family farmers to adopt conservation practices and provide healthy, local food to school-aged children.