Agricultura urbana/periurbana e agricultura familiar no contexto das políticas públicas durante a pandemia da covid-19 no RN

Abstract

The phenomenon of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA), despite being unnoticed by part of the society, exists and has significant repercussions in the territory. From production, distribution and consumption, the model, which is put into practice within cities or peri-urban regions, creates and develops economic circuits that can involve anything from a few families to important fractions of populations. It presents itself as an option used as supplement income for many producers, including vulnerable populations. That said, the main objective of the present work is to carry out a study on the phenomenon of urban and peri-urban agriculture in the metropolitan region of Natal, correlating it with family farming, and the way which public policies access it, mainly the brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE), highlighting its importance in reducing the impact of hunger among families in vulnerable situations during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. To this end, a bibliographical research was developed on the topic, field research was carried out in several vegetable gardens in the aforementioned region, as well as the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data on the population and agriculture, and on the way in which family farming, which was already part of the National School Feeding Program, fits into the context of institutional purchases. It was verified that part of the foodstuffs produced within the metropolitan region of Natal, mainly in the neighboring municipalities, were purchased through the PNAE and subsequently distributed to the families of students enrolled in the state education network of Rio Grande do Norte, since due to the social distancing of students, they had remote classes. In the end, the importance of institutional purchases for the families of enrolled students and for the economic context of urban family producers that make the dynamics of UPA in the metropolitan region of Natal, located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, was verified.