An in-depth review of the evolution of integrated public policies to strengthen family farms in Brazil

Abstract

From 2003, the Zero Hunger Program and subsequently, in 2011, the Brazil Without Poverty Plan, marked a deliberate convergence of the purposes and actions focused on farmers and family farmers in Brazil. This allowed simultaneous access to social policies and polices focused on agriculture and livestock activities, through a permanent set of public policies, such as rural credit, climate and income insurance, technical assistance and commercialization. This happened in parallel to affirmative actions related to gender, ethnicity and rural youth. To deal with such complex themes such as eradicating hunger and extreme poverty, the Federal Government began to integrate traditionally independent actions and programs. The creation of institutional markets focused on family farming, such as the Program for Purchase of Food (PAA) and the National Program for School Meals (PNAE), is an example of combining public policies, such as social assistance, education, agriculture and land development. The creation of this integrated program was only made possible by the coordination and the strong commitment towards joint efforts by federal ministries and bodies, as well as the effective participation of state and municipal governments. The constant presence of organized civil society, with its councils and forums, and of the organized movements in the rural, helped to correct and increase the actions, and conferring legitimacy to the programs.