Abstract:

Since 2009, legislation of the National School Feeding Program of Brazil (PNAE) institutionalizes its linkage with family farming as it establishes the requirement that at least 30% out of the total financial resources allocated by the federal government to the states and municipalities for school feeding must be used in the purchase of products directly from this sector. This study analyzes the process of drafting this legislation, focusing on the elements related to the procurement from family farming, through a historical contextualization, and it also presents a graphical representation with the main elements of this linkage: its objectives, target population, actions implemented and expected results. Actors involved with the drafting of the legislation were interviewed. The analyses show that the procurement from family farming is a far-reaching initiative in terms of the concept, execution and results. It has also showed that a strong articulation between the actors and institutions of the different sectors involved is critical to its success. The education, agriculture, planning, procurement and civil society sectors should work articulately at national, state and local level. The results of this study demonstrate that initiatives like this, of institutional procurement from family farming, which are currently being implemented in several countries, constitute as an important strategy of food and nutrition security, for the fulfillment of the human right to adequate food and the promotion of long-term sustainable development.

Keywords:
School Feeding; Food and Nutrition Security; Agriculture; Local Development

Introduction

School feeding programs were implemented in less developed countries, some since the1940s, initially as a welfare and ad hoc initiative, as one of the strategies for social protection targeted to more vulnerable population groups, and whose objectives were to reduce poverty levels, relieve short-term hunger, attract and maintain children in school, and reduce malnutrition ¹1. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Alimentación escolar y las posibilidades de compra directa de la agricultura familiar. Estudio de caso en ocho países. s.l.: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2013.^,22. World Food Programme. State of school feeding worldwide. Rome: World Food Programme; 2013..

Such programs consisted merely of providing food, without any other combined actions, which came from international donations or were purchased through a centralized system, from large suppliers; the meals were standardized, not diversified, with limited amounts of fresh foods and inconsistent with local culture and local eating habits ³3. Spinelli MAS, Canesqui AM. O programa de alimentação escolar no estado de Mato Grosso: da centralização à descentralização (1979-1995). Rev Nutr 2002; 15:105-17.^,44. Sturion GL, Silva MV, Ometto AMH, Furtuoso MCO, Pipitone MAP. Fatores condicionantes da adesão dos alunos ao Programa de Alimentação Escolar no Brasil. Rev Nutr 2005; 18:167-81.^,55. Peixinho AML. A trajetória do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar no período de 2003-2010: relato do gestor nacional. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva 2013; 18:909-16..

Over the years, many of these programs have gone through changes in their conception, design, coverage, institutional arrangements, and procurement modalities. Nowadays, in many countries they are linked to other objectives, such as the development of healthy eating habits, strengthening of food culture and of social participation, and development of school curricular for the promotion of food and nutrition education, among others ¹1. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Alimentación escolar y las posibilidades de compra directa de la agricultura familiar. Estudio de caso en ocho países. s.l.: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2013.^,66. Bundy D, Burbano C, Grosh M, Gelli A, Jukes M, Drake L. Rethinking school feeding: social safety nets, child development, and the education sector. Rome: World Food Programme; 2009.. More recently, such programs have been recognized as tools to strengthen local economies when they purchase directly from local family farmers, and various countries have established and implemented this initiative as a priority ¹1. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Alimentación escolar y las posibilidades de compra directa de la agricultura familiar. Estudio de caso en ocho países. s.l.: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2013.^,66. Bundy D, Burbano C, Grosh M, Gelli A, Jukes M, Drake L. Rethinking school feeding: social safety nets, child development, and the education sector. Rome: World Food Programme; 2009.^,77. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Agricultura familiar en América Latina y el Caribe: recomendaciones de política. Santiago: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2014..

The demand created by school feeding programs has enormous potential for the development of family farming and short-chain (local) markets, constituting a powerful tool for boosting local economy, leading to increases in farmers’ income, contributing to food and nutrition security of the communities, to overcome the poverty cycle and to the strengthening and sustainability of these programs. At the same time, the supply of fresh, diversified and culturally appropriate foods from family farming may contribute to improve the quality of school meals, to the development of healthy eating habits and to improve appreciation for local culinary traditions and regional dietary habits. ⁸8. Espejo F, Burbano C, Galliano E. Home-grown school feeding: a framework to link school feeding with local agricultural production. Rome: World Food Programme; 2009.^,99. Turpin ME. A alimentação escolar como fator de desenvolvimento local por meio do apoio aos agricultores familiares. Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional 2009; 16:20-42.^,1010. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Las compras públicas a la agricultura familiar y la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional en América Latina y el Caribe. Lecciones aprendidas y experiencias. Santiago: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2015..

In Brazil, school feeding emerged in the 1940s, initially with similar conceptual, administrative and organizational characteristics as the programs in other Latin American countries. Since then, the program has gone through many changes and from the 1970s on, has been acknowledged as National School Feeding Program (PNAE for its name in Portuguese). Over the last decades, it has been restructured, and one of the recent advances was the approval of the Law 11,947/2009¹¹11. Presidência da República. Lei nº 11.947 de 16 de junho, 2009. Dispõe sobre o atendimento da alimentação escolar e do Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola aos alunos da educação básica. Diário Oficial da União 2009; 17 jun. and its regulations ¹²12. Brasil. Resolução/CD/FNDE nº 38, de 16 de julho de 2009. Dispõe sobre o atendimento da alimentação escolar aos alunos da educação básica no Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar - PNAE. Diário Oficial da União 2009; 17 jul.^,1313. Brasil. Resolução/CD/FNDE nº 38, de 17 de junho de 2013. Dispõe sobre o atendimento da alimentação escolar aos alunos da educação básica no âmbito do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar - PNAE. Diário Oficial da União 2013; 18 jun., which introduced important changes to the program, including the recognition of school feeding as a strategy for the fulfillment of the human right to adequate food, the extension of school feeding to middle school students, inclusion of food and nutrition education in the school curriculum in a cross-cutting manner, and the linkage with family farming.

Law 11,947 establishes, as mandatory, that out of the total financial resources transferred by the federal government to the states and municipalities for school feeding, at least 30% must be used in the purchase of products directly from family farming. A fundamental provision established is that this purchase can be made through a procurement modality geared specifically towards family farmers - a public call - and not necessarily through the traditional government bidding procedures, thus facilitating farmers’ access to an institutional program. In addition, the law establishes that the school menus should be developed by a nutritionist, prioritizing staple foods that respect local culture and eating traditions, based on the region’s sustainability and agricultural diversity.

The institutionalization of the link between a school feeding program and local agriculture, through legal frameworks like these, can be considered a milestone in food and nutrition security policies. In Brazil, as in other countries, family farmers have faced many obstacles to access the institutional market, especially because of the bidding procedures for sales to the government and the lack of specific marketing channels for their products ¹⁴14. Schneider S, Mattei L, Cazella AA. Histórico, caracterização e dinâmica recente do Pronaf - Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento da Agricultura Familiar. In: Schneider S, Silva MK, Marques PEM, organizadores. Políticas públicas e participação social no Brasil rural. Porto Alegre: UFRGS Editora; 2004. p. 21-50.^,1515. Cerqueira PS, Rocha AGP, Coelho VP. Agricultura familiar e políticas públicas: algumas reflexões sobre o Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos no estado da Bahia. Revista Desenbahia 2006; 5:55-78.. Brazil was the first country of Latin America and the Caribbean and of Africa to pass a school feeding law and institutionalize direct purchases from family farmers for school meals, thus serving as an important reference of school feeding programs for countries of these regions ¹1. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Alimentación escolar y las posibilidades de compra directa de la agricultura familiar. Estudio de caso en ocho países. s.l.: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2013.^,77. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Agricultura familiar en América Latina y el Caribe: recomendaciones de política. Santiago: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2014..

After enactment of the law, the implementation of local purchases by the PNAE began on a large scale, and currently various municipalities are already implementing such purchases ¹⁶16. Saraiva EB, Silva APF, Sousa AA, Cerqueira GF, Chagas CMS, Toral N. Panorama da compra de alimentos da agricultura familiar para o Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva 2013; 18:927-35.^,1717. Slater B, Schwartzman F, Januario BL, Ramos JF. Situação dos municípios do Estado de São Paulo com relação à compra direta de produtos da agricultura familiar para o Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE). Rev Bras Epidemiol 2013; 16:223-6..

The initiative has not been without challenges in practice, due to the complexity in all its stages. The operationalization, monitoring, and evaluation are complex, because they involve different sectors of government and society at the federal, state, and municipal levels; they require effective mechanisms for institutional dialogue and inter-sector capacity-building, and the expected reach is

quite wide and diversified.

Considering the initiative’s complexity and the shortage of studies that address its construction and analysis, it si important to analyze the historical context and construction that led to the drafting of Law 11,947, more specifically the provisions related to purchases from family farmers. It is also essential to revisit the initiative’s main components in order to facilitate an understanding of the process as well as of the necessary mechanisms for its implementation, the expected results and effects, so they can be evaluated in the future. In addition, this study is expected to provide subsidies that can support other countries in implementing family farming purchases for their school feeding programs.

Methods

The analysis of the construction of the legal framework of the linkage of family farming with PNAE consisted of a historical description of the drafting process for Law 11,947, with a focus on the procurement from family farming, and of the development of a graphic representation with the main elements in this initiative.

At first, some of the main actors involved in drafting the bill that resulted in the Executive Order 455/2009¹⁹19. Brasil. Medida Provisória nº 455 de 28 de janeiro, 2009. Dispõe sobre o atendimento da alimentação escolar e do Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola aos alunos da educação básica, altera a Lei no 10.880, de 9 de junho de 2004, e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União 2009; 29 jan., which subsequently became Law 11,947 were identified. This identification was carried out taking into consideration recommendations by stakeholders from the Brazilian National Fund for Education Development (FNDE, for it name in Portuguese), who had played an active role in drafting the bill. At the same time, a semi-structured questionnaire (Figure 1) was developed, according to the methodology proposed by Minayo ²⁰20. Minayo MCS. Pesquisa social: teoria, método e criatividade. Petrópolis: Editora Vozes; 2007. with the aim to understand the historical process of the construction of the Law, with a focus on the provisions pertaining to direct procurement, and also to gather information on the initiative’s origins, context, objectives, target audience, implemented actions, and expected results and effects. For the development of the questions and the methodology for the interviews, the main researcher was assisted by a researcher from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) with extensive expertise in the development of logic models.

Interviews were conducted from January to March 2012. Nine persons were interviewed: representatives of FNDE, of the Ministry of Agrarian Development, of the National Food Company (CONAB) and of Food and Nutrition Security National Council (CONSEA), as they were some of the main institutions and stakeholders involved in drafting the bill at the government and civil society levels. It was not possible to interview family farmers, but many of the interviewees were familiar with the local farming community or belonged to social movements, and insofar as possible we attempted to include their views and demands concerning public purchases. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed.

For the systematization and analysis of the information, the transcribed interviews were summarized and the main ideas were categorized on an Excel (Microsoft Corp., USA) spreadsheet according to the key analytical elements: the initiative’s overall objectives of the linkage, specific objectives, target audience, actions and activities implemented and expected results and effects, as proposed by Ferreira et al. ²¹21. Ferreira H, Cassiolato M, Gonzalez R. Uma experiência de desenvolvimento metodológico para avaliação de programas: o modelo lógico do Programa Segundo Tempo. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2009. (Texto para Discussão, 1369). and Cassiolato & Gueresi ²²22. Cassiolato M, Gueresi S. Como elaborar modelo lógico: roteiro para formular programas e organizar avaliação. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2010. (Nota Técnica, 6)..

The data were analyzed and systematized based on: (a) the information collected at the interviews; (b) a theoretical and legal framework (documents and legislation on the issues); and (c) the main researcher´s experience and knowledge. Subsequently, the information was systematized in a diagram according to each of the elements.

The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, case review 2310, and was funded by the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) and partially funded by the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (Capes).

Results and discussion

In order to facilitate the understanding about the linkage of PNAE with family farming, it is important to contextualize the historical period that contributed to the development of this initiative.

Background of the linkage between the PNAE and family farming

According to the information collected, the initiative to link family farming to public procurement had been discussed in the country since the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially responding to demands by social movements and family farmers. These groups demanded the right to participate in public policy decisions and measures to allow the selling of family farming products for the institutional market, because Law 8,666/1993²³23. Presidência da República. Lei nº 8.666 de 21 de junho de 1993. Regulamenta o art. 37, inciso XXI, da Constituição Federal, institui norma para licitação e contratos da Administração Pública e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União 1993; 22 jun., which set the rules for government tenders and contracts, created various bureaucratic obstacles and requirements for these groups to participate in government bidding processes.

“...one of the main demands by the Landless Workers’ Movement [MST] was the fact that they were unable to sell their products on the institutional market. This was the main problem, and their demand appeared in all their demonstrations here in Brasília, such as the March of the 100 Thousand, the March of the 25 Thousand, all of them, and the Landless Workers were not the only ones to voice this demand” (interviewee 1, FNDE).

“...[the origin of the initiative to link school feeding to family farming] was the preconference of the CONSEA, the social movements’ conferences, which always demanded including family farming in the public policies” (interviewee 8, FNDE).

“The origin of the initiative to link school feeding to family farming came from family farming as part of the discussion on institutional markets; that family farming should be prioritized in the institutional markets, because in the legislation of bidding procedures, Law 8,666, for example, it was not” (interviewee 2, Brazilian Ministry of Agrarian Development).

At the same time, civil society and professionals from the areas of health, nutrition and food security were also discussing these issues in various forums, such as the Conferences on Health and on Food and Nutrition.

“...we had been addressing this discussion [how to include family farming in the institutional market] in the Health Conferences and in the 1st Conference on Food and Nutrition. In 1986, we had already included this issue on the agenda, the promotion for family farming in the institutional market in general” (interviewee 1, FNDE).

Decentralization of the PNAE, beginning in 1994, created prospects for allowing local managers (who were closer to their local realities) to strengthen local circuits between farm production and marketing and local purchases. This created the possibility of supplying more varied school feeding with fresh produce, more consistent with Brazil’s various regional dietary habits.

But Law 8,666 (on public tenders) still posed serious difficulties to local purchases. There were also persistent uncertainties and internal resistance to local purchases inside the FNDE, the agency responsible for executing the PNAE, due to lack of experience in conducting such purchases without infringing Law 8,666.

“We can refer back to the decentralization of the financial resources for school feeding, when this took place back in 1993. Reading the legislation and the principles, what motivated the decentralization of the financial resources, was the idea of strengthening the link between school feeding and local production. The problem was that this was done back then, but only halfway. Right afterwards there was 2,300 [Executive Order 2,300/86], the prevailing legislation at the time, and soon came Law 8.666, which created a series of restrictions (...) And this process in 1993 ended up going only halfway because with the imposition of Law 8,666, even with improvements, and there certainly were improvements in procurement by various states, the law did not allow this direct relationship with farmers, whether the family farmers or their organizations” (interviewee 7, CONAB).

“So the PAA [Brazilian Food Acquisition Program] began to grow and consolidate itself in purchases from family farming, because the fear I saw in the FNDE agencies, in the managers at the time, if the FAE [Foundation for Student Assistance, previously responsible for school feeding] were centralized, and to decentralize was torture, it was a struggle, but they managed to decentralize it; but many were still against decentralization because of reports of corruption, of poorly developed school menus and all those issues, just imagine now, with purchases from family farming. Nobody’s in charge, and there’s no documentation, it’ll be total chaos, out of control, so internally it was a problem” (interviewee 1, FNDE).

In the early 2000s (starting in 2003), food and nutrition security issues became a priority on Brazil’s development agenda, and various related policies were drafted and/or strengthened. It was a time of intense debate on how to implement intersectoral coordination in practice in the areas of food and nutrition and the fight against hunger. The Zero Hunger Strategy was one such policy, and PNAE, included as one of its most important programs due to its wide reach (all of Brazil’s 5,570 municipalities provide school feeding) and huge demand for foods, participated actively in the discussion, questioning what would be its role as a public policy in the fight against hunger and how it could put into practice its capillarity and intersectoral approach , under the framework of these policies.

“The greater objective of PNAE is that it really is a program with an intersectoral approach, and if it has this approach and is part of the Zero Hunger strategy, how does it dialogue with other public policies (...) So we thought, since it has this intersectoral approach and it is Brazil’s largest program, providing the largest amount of food to a wide range of sectors, it’s time to think about how to actually disseminate this food and nutrition security” (interviewee 1, FNDE).

“So PNAE, as a policy with the largest capillarity, if you work, through this policy, this intersectoral concept in the field of fight against hunger, in the field of food (...) this goes way back, it didn’t just appear now. With Zero Hunger, it was possible to create a structure (...) that is, PNAE and the public polies, in the fight against hunger, what is its role?” (interviewee 6, FNDE).

At the time, a need was identified to update PNAE’s budget and also to modernize the program, prioritizing its social aspects and not only its biological ones, with adjustments in its objectives, coverage, modalities procurement and of social participation, among others. This was to be done initially through a set of measures and subsequently, through a bill of law, as it was essential to draft a legal framework for the Program in order to institutionalize it as a state program that addressed the following priorities: recognition of school feeding as a mechanism for the fulfilment of the human right to adequate food, the extension of school feeding to middle school students, the inclusion of food and nutrition education as a cross-cutting subject in the school curriculum, the link with family farming, and other important aspects.

“For ten years there had been a freeze on the increase in the per capita allotment [for PNAE] and an adjustment was needed, as a matter of fact this was jeopardizing the program. In my opinion, the program was extremely weakened at the time. That was the main problem to start with. I submitted this proposal to the President [of Brazil], and he was sympathetic, especially because the per capita allotment hadn’t been adjusted for ten years” (interviewee 4, CONSEA).

“...because at the time (...) this was being proposed, to push forward, not to only address the per capita, and we started discussing this issue (...) a more in-depth discussion was needed, to expand nutrition beyond the biological sphere and to realize that it’s much more the social aspect...” (interviewee 1, FNDE).

“There were some priorities in the Law [Law 11,947 ]. One thing was to recognize school feeding as a human right to food (...) There was another point, and it was a very strong demand. We traveled to different parts of the country, and what always came up was to extend school feeding to middle school (...) So this was another point that had to be included and was included in the Law. And there was a whole other dimension of nutrition education, which is written into the Law. The aspect of healthy food and the family farming issue” (interviewee 4, CONSEA).

The creation of PAA by the federal government in 2003, as another program of the Zero Hunger Strategy was also mentioned as essential for the implementation of the linkage of PNAE with local production, later on. PAA was the first government program to institutionalize the procurement of family farming products by the government, exempting them from the bidding rules imposed by Law 8,666. PAA, therefore, allowed family farmers to participate in government procurement and led to a series of experiences, many of which were later incorporated by PNAE.

“In fact, it was PAA that taught us how to do this [direct institutional purchases from family farming]. The PAA proved that it was possible, because of Law 8,666. I’m not sure, because I wasn’t in the Committee [created to discuss local purchases]. But even if there was someone who voiced it, in the Committee, I have the impression that PNAE project was affected by the excitement over PAA. I think the successful experience with PAA, that idea, I have the impression that it was what did it...” (interviewee 5, CONSEA).

“It was PAA that opened the gates. PAA appeared (...) they saw great potential in PAA and they started going for the idea (...) The spark from PAA was what opened the way for these other initiatives. And the PNAE is PAA multiplied by...” (interviewee 5, CONSEA).

“...it was PAA that set the example, PAA created the path, it opened the possibility or accumulated the experience for FNDE, school feeding, to come in its wake...” (interviewee 7, CONAB).

According to some interviewees, before Executive Order 544 and Law 11,947 were enacted, there were some isolated experiences with direct procurement for PNAE in some Brazilian municipalities, but they were only possible thanks to the efforts of local administrators that were interested on the local development issue. Local procurement only really became possible with the creation of the procurement modality called “public call” (chamada pública), through the enactment of Law 11,947.

“Before the PAA, several local governments in Brazil were already purchasing directly from family farming, during dictartoship time...If you study the history of Dois Irmãos [a municipality] and three or four nearby municipalities, the mayors with a community background or social origins were already experimenting with small farmers in their communities, very localized experiences in Brazil” (interviewee 6, FNDE).

CONSEA played a crucial role, because it was through it, that the idea [of linking school feeding to family farming] was consolidated as a bill; that led to the Executive Order and later the Law.

“CONSEA played a crucial role, because it proposed the idea [of linking school feeding to family farming] that was consolidated as a bill; CONSEA submitted the bill, collected the inputs, and compiled them in a proposal, leading the process internally and later submitting the proposal to Congress...” (interviewee 3, Brazilian Ministry of Agrarian Development).

“CONSEA always accompanied the process, actually PAA emerged within the CONSEA. CONSEA played an essential role. If it had not been for CONSEA, PAA would not have existed, and if it had not been for CONSEA, there would be no law with the binding 30% minimum. Both for increasing the per capita allotment and amending the Law, CONSEA was essential in this process” (interviewee 7, CONAB).

Graphic depiction of the elements of the linkage of PNAE and family farming

Figures 2, 3, and 4 illustrate the initiative to link the PNAE to family farming according to the model proposed by Ferreira et al. ²¹21. Ferreira H, Cassiolato M, Gonzalez R. Uma experiência de desenvolvimento metodológico para avaliação de programas: o modelo lógico do Programa Segundo Tempo. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2009. (Texto para Discussão, 1369).. The diagram has three parts: (1) basic elements of the initiative of linking PNAE and family farming; (2) logic frame for achieving the results; and (3) expected results and effects from the initiative of linking PNAE to family farming.

The elements represented in the figures have the following characteristics:

Objectives of linking PNAE to family farming

The scheme presents the general and the specific objectives of the linkage. Both refer to a change in the situation, i.e., what is expected to happen as a result of the linkage of PNAE and family farming, and the specific objectives establishes more details as to the expected change.

Target audience

The target audience for each axis is the population that will directly benefit from the linkage. These are the students, who will receive school meals with family farming products and the family farmers, who will supply to the schools. Only family farmers that meet the criteria of the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (PRONAF) and have the Declaration of Aptitude to PRONAF (DAP, in Portuguese) can participate in the process.

Intermediate actions

This category includes the intermediate actions performed by the various institutions involved in the process, and that were not addressed directly to the target audience. They can be considereded as “preparatory” measures for implementing the core activities, which are the main actions implemented. These intermediate actions began during the drafting of the bill of law that eventually led to Executive Order 455. Examples of intermediate actions include drafting of regulations like Resolution 38 of the FNDE; the development of government strategies, which were government plans to promote the procurement; the creation of bodies at national and local levels, such as the Intersectoral State Commission on School Feeding (CEIA, in Portuguese), a group consisting of representatives from various institutions involved with agriculture and school feeding at the state level, as well as non-governmental organizations (NGO) and academia, with the aim of supporting and strengthening the implementation of local procurement for PNAE in the state of São Paulo.

Implemented actions

The actions implemented to enable the linkage at the federal, state and local levels include the main-actions, or those producing goods or services that impact the target audience in some way. The answers of the interviewees were organized into three categories: (1) publicity of and awareness-raising about Law 11,947, with emphasis on procurement from family farming; (2) training and advising for the implementation of procurement from family farming; and (3) monitoring and assessment of the implementation of procurement from family farming.

These actions targeted all the actors involved in the implementation of local procurement by PNAE, in the different institutions and spheres of government: family farmers, agriculture extensionists, stakeholders from the education, administration and agriculture sectors, nutritionists, cooks and members of the School Feeding Council (CAE).

Activities

The actions were unfolded into activities, which represents what the program did with the available resources, namely the processes, services and interventions the program developed to achieve the results. Like the actions, the activities are also presented according to the three major categories. The activities were implemented by the various institutions involved in the process, including the Ministry of Agrarian Development, Ministry of Social Development, CONAB, FNDE, among others.

Outputs

The outputs are the goods, services and/or situations related to the beneficiaries of the actions, that are generated by the implemented actions. It is expected that, as a result of them, the procurement from family farming to PNAE could be implemented.

Expected results and effects

The results are directly related to the objectives, as they show whether the expected change resulting from the initiative actually happened. Both are formulations of the same object of change and the results measure the objective’s reach. The intermediate results presented here are related to the specific objectives, and the final results are directly related to the general objectives. The effects were defined as the events about which can reasonably be said that suffered the influence of some aspect of the strategy of linking PNAE and family farming ²⁴24. Cohen E, Franco R. Avaliação de projetos sociais. Petrópolis: Editora Vozes; 1993.. The direct effects were defined as the changes that may occur as a result of the actions and activities and the final result of the strategy. Unlike the final results, such changes are generally perceived after longer exposure to the intervention, which in this case are the purchases from family farming by the PNAE. The indirect effects, sometimes referred to as impacts, were defined as the initiative’s consequences in a broader context.

It is worth pointing out that, as mentioned by various interviewees, the procurement from family farming for school feeding is not an isolated initiative of PNAE and, as such, should be considered as one among many strategies of the Program. In this diagram, we have always sought to focus on the PNAE/family agriculture initiative trying to represent, as much as possible, the elements that were somehow related to it. However, some of the expected results and effects may not result exclusively from the linkage, but from a set of actions of PNAE.

Identification of the contextual factors of the implementation of local procurement by PNAE

For the analysis, it was important to understand the possible influences of the context on the implementation of the linkage strategy. It was thus essential to identify the main contextual factors that could favor or hinder the development of the planned actions and activities. The interviewees were asked about the favorable and unfavorable factors for the effective implementation of local purchases by PNAE at the federal, state, and/or local levels at the time of the interviews.

Among the favorable elements, the following stand out: (a) the existence of the PAA in the municipality, as it represents a local predisposition to implement the initiative and the existence of farmers who were organized and certified (with the DAP); (b) intersectoral articulation between the bodies involved; and (c) the existence of local coordination mechanisms such as CEIA. The presence of such factors in some municipalities facilitated the initiative’s implementation. The unfavorable elements that were mentioned included institutional difficulties and infrastructure and logistics problems, among others (Figure 5).

The contextual factors were consistently analyzed by PNAE’s stakeholders and partner institutions, and the interviewees mentioned that, at the time of the interviews, many strategies to mitigate the difficulties that could jeopardize the initiative’s success were already being planned and implemented, some of which are shown in the diagram. The contextual factors were consistently analyzed by PNAE’s stakeholders and partner institutions, and the interviewees mentioned that, at the time of the interviews, many strategies to mitigate the difficulties that could jeopardize the initiative’s.

Discussion

The historical reconstitution performed through the analysis of the construction of the legal framework of the linkage between family farming and PNAE, as well as the identification of its main components, the processes involved for its implementation and the expected changes, show that this is a wide-reaching and intersectoral initiative, both from the conceptual point of view and the execution and expected results.

Hawkes et al. 1⁸8. Espejo F, Burbano C, Galliano E. Home-grown school feeding: a framework to link school feeding with local agricultural production. Rome: World Food Programme; 2009. analyzing the political processes that facilitated the link between PNAE family farming, highlighted the importance of intersectoral mechanisms for the initiative’s approval and for the inclusion of nutrition-related targets as a fundamental part of Law 11,947.

It was possible to identify that the purpose of linking school feeding purchases to local farmers (and not only to large food suppliers and farmers from distant municipalities) goes far beyond changing suppliers, since this approach is not limited to a commercial relationship; it is part of a new comprehensive and intersectoral vision of school feeding being adopted in Brazil and other countries.

Specifically in Brazil, this intersectoral approach is expressed in Law 11,947, which contains elements that link PNAE to the health policy, the educational policy, the policy that protect minority rights, to agroecology; and, as such, school feeding should be considered a strategy to improve the quality of school feeding, of local development, of strengthening of family farming, for the realization of food and nutrition security and for the fulfillment of the human right to adequate food in schools.

Thus, the link between PNAE and family farming stands out as an innovative initiative, consistent with a current vision of food and nutrition security strategies that seek to optimize and articulate public programs, policies and resources to combat various manifestations of food and nutrition insecurity and, at the same, promote sustainable local development ⁷7. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Agricultura familiar en América Latina y el Caribe: recomendaciones de política. Santiago: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2014.^,2525. Sambuichi RHR, Galindo EP, Oliveira MAC, Moura AMM. Compras públicas sustentáveis e agricultura familiar: a experiência do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) e do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE). In: Sambuichi RHR, Silva APM, Oliveira MAC, Moisés Savian, organizadores. Políticas agroambientais e sustentabilidade: desafios, oportunidades e lições aprendidas. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2014.. However, it has also been shown that the implementation of direct procument for school feeding is a complex process that involves agencies, institutions and stakeholders from different sectors at all levels of government and civil society. Likewise, a strong articulation and dialogue between all stakeholders is essential, which requires the development and strengthening of intersectoral and interinstitutional mechanisms, in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, in all stages of the process, from the drafting of the legal frameworks to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the actions. Sectors of education, agriculture, planning, procurement, civil society and NGOs should work together with family farmers and their representatives at national, state and local levels.

In addition, there are still several challenges to be overcome in practice, especially in relation to logistics, pricing, farmers identification and registration, technical assistance, food safety compliance, management of the farmers and its organizations (accounting, finances, taxes, organization of production, marketing), development of school menus that reflect local agricultural production and the strengthening of intersectoral mechanisms ²⁵25. Sambuichi RHR, Galindo EP, Oliveira MAC, Moura AMM. Compras públicas sustentáveis e agricultura familiar: a experiência do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) e do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE). In: Sambuichi RHR, Silva APM, Oliveira MAC, Moisés Savian, organizadores. Políticas agroambientais e sustentabilidade: desafios, oportunidades e lições aprendidas. Brasília: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada; 2014.^,2626. Souza-Esquerdo VF, Bergamasco SMPP. Análise sobre o acesso aos programas de políticas públicas da agricultura familiar nos municípios do circuito das frutas (SP). Revista de Economia Sociologia Rural 2014; 52 Suppl 1:205-22.^,2727. Costa BAL, Amorim Junior PCG, Silva MG. As cooperativas de agricultura familiar e o mercado de compras governamentais em Minas Gerais. Revista de Economia Sociologia Rural 2015; 53:109-26..

It is also important to assess this initiative’s effects and whether the expected results and effects are being achieved. Some studies have already identified positive results in relation to increases in farmers’ income and improvements in their living conditions, crop diversification and increased production, and improvements in school feeding with a greater supply of fruits and vegetables ²⁸28. Corá MAJ, Belik W, organizadores. Projeto Nutre SP: análise da inclusão da agricultura familiar na alimentação escolar do estado de São Paulo. São Paulo: Instituto Via Pública; 2012.^,2929. Schwartzman F. Vinculação do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE) com a agricultura familiar: caracterização da venda direta e das mudanças para os agricultores familiares em municípios do estado de São Paulo [Tese de Doutorado]. São Paulo: Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo; 2015..

As a result of the various advances implemented by school feeding programs in several countries in the last decades, having PNAE as an important reference and the linkage to local producers as one of the main initiatives adopted, nowadays, in the regions of Latin American and Caribbean and Africa, such programs have been adopted as an important state policy and strategy of food and nutritional security, for the fulfillment of the human right to adequate food and for the promotion of long-term sustainable development ¹1. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Alimentación escolar y las posibilidades de compra directa de la agricultura familiar. Estudio de caso en ocho países. s.l.: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura; 2013.^,22. World Food Programme. State of school feeding worldwide. Rome: World Food Programme; 2013.^,66. Bundy D, Burbano C, Grosh M, Gelli A, Jukes M, Drake L. Rethinking school feeding: social safety nets, child development, and the education sector. Rome: World Food Programme; 2009..

Following Brazil, other countries in the regions (Paraguay and Honduras) have passed school feeding laws and others are in advanced stages of discussions (Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica). It´s All these laws provide for direct purchases from family farming.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Martha Cassiolato for her valuable contributions in the project’s design, development of interviews anda data analysis; Camila Cirillo and Najla Veloso Sampaio Barbosa for their support in the discussions and the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) and the Brazilian Graduate Studies Coordinating Board (Capes) for their financial support.

References

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