The Food Acquisition Program (PAA) – a Brazilian Federal Government action designed to combat hunger and promote the distribution of income and growth of family farming – has been replicated in Bahia’s Southern Lowlands since 2009.

The initiative arrived to the region through a technical cooperation agreement between the Odebrecht Foundation, Pratigi Environmental Protection Area Inter-Municipal Consortium (CIAPRA) and the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation, with the support of the Rights and Citizenship Institute (IDC).

A total of 317 families are assisted in four cities. The farmers can receive up to R$ 4,500 per year by delivering the foods to the PAA. “The growth in the family’s income and ease of selling what was before thrown away as garbage are the main benefits,” said Maria Celeste, Executive Director of IDC.

PAA was mentioned in the report Procurement for the Millennium Development, written by the General Secretary of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. The program was considered one of the best global practices in terms of its contribution to the Millennium Development Objectives.