Avaliação da inserção de alimentos da agricultura familiar em Institutos Federais de Educação do Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

Amid the current scenario of food production and consumption and its socioeconomic, environmental, and public health repercussions, the potential of Brazilian school feeding and public food purchases to induce changes in food systems through public actions and policies that favor sustainable development. Recently, the “Public Call” purchase modality was instituted and opened spaces for family farming in institutional purchases in the country. However, there is still a need for analyzes and adjustments that allow for better implementation of its policies, which show points for improvement and reflection on the intrinsic conditions of production and marketing that encompass these farmers. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate public purchases of foodstuffs from family farming for school meals in the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN). A documentary analysis of the Public Call notices of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) and Food Acquisition Program, modality Institutional Purchase (PAA-CI) was carried out, considering the following analysis criteria: financial investment, between the years 2012 to 2020; for the characterization of family farmers, evaluation of food homologated on the public calls and food processing classification, it was considered the year of 2020. Public Calls from 15 campuses distributed among the 11 immediate regions of the State of Rio Grande do Norte were studied. The results revealed a financial investment for the food purchase from family farming ≥ 30% on most campuses evaluated since the insertion of the PNAE and PAA-CI in the IFRN, even with decreases in recent years. Related to the characterization of family farmers, in their form of organization, the majority (56.25%) were grouped (formally or informally), with priority given to the supply of fruit, however, few (6.25%) were characterized as agroecological producers. Among the homologated foods, “fruits” and “foods with limited supply” (mainly cakes and dairy drinks) were the most frequent, and of the 5.2% not homologated, 63.6%were due to the non-presenting a food sample for sanitary control and 36.4% due to the absence of proposals to supply the products contained in the public notice. In the period and documents analyzed, the request and homologation of meats and meat products were also not observed, Of the total of the foods listed in the calls, 83.06% were in natura or minimally processed. However, processed and ultra-processed foods were present, requested above 25% in some regions. This study contributed to understanding the context of the participation of family farmers within the institutional market of public purchases of the federal institutes of RN, evidencing gaps in such processes, being able to act beyond the guarantee of food supply in public facilities, due to the relevance of the food and nutrition and family farming policies as environmental, nutritional, social and economic protection networks, promoting food and nutrition security.