After completing 10 years, the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) presents some significant results for the country: investments of R$ 5 billion to acquire more than three million tons of food produced, benefiting more than 190,000 families.

Coordinated by Brazil’s Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation (MDS), the PPA seeks to coordinate rural farmers’ production with the food supplement demands present at daycares, shelters, hostels, public hospitals, etc. “The program allows for the strengthening of agricultural work, boosting of the local economies, promotion of food security and emphasis on health habits all through the use of a single resource,” explained Arnoldo de Campos, National Secretary of Food and Nutritional Security at MDS.

Bahia’s Southern Lowlands
The Rights and Citizenship Institute (IDC) – associated with the Bahia Southern Lowlands Environmental Protection Area Mosaic Program for Development and Growth Integrated with Sustainability (PDCIS), supported by the Odebrecht Foundation and public and private partners – contributes directly to making this scenario possible. Since 2009, it has coordinated the participation of 17 associations and cooperatives from the Southern Lowlands in PPA, benefitting 775 families. “It is very gratifying to be able to contribute toward the region’s production development,” said João Nildo, Coordinator of the Social-Production Inclusion Area at IDC. “By training the communities, we provide the tools necessary for them to gain access to PAA,” said Nildo.

In partnership with the National Supply Company, the institute moved some R$ 2.5 million, and in 2012 alone, it made the sale of more than 730,000 kilos of food possible. “By applying the program, IDC also helps reduce rural exodus, since the producers can have the security they need to remain in the rural region and maintain their plantations,” said Vilma Santos, President of the Association of Baixão, Tremedal and Cariri Rural Producers (APROBATC), with head office in the Bahia municipality of Valença and one of the supported associations.