Brazilian Food Purchase Program promotes food security to traditional communities
This work is about the experience of a group of women in the commercialization of gathered wild fruits through the governmental Food Purchase Program (in portuguese PAA) in the Brazilian State of Sergipe. The analytical framework is associated to the debate on poverty and specific public policies for traditional communities in rural áreas and theirs consequences to food security. The women hold a collective identity as the mangaba gatherers, based on their use of common pool resources with low environmental impact. They mobilize themselves through the Movimento das Catadoras de Mangaba - MCM (in english, Mangaba Gatherer Women´s Movement). Although they have recently been recognized as having specific legal rights, they are experiencing the dwindling of the resources they gather, as well as difficulties in commercialization of the fruits due to their seasonality and the unpredictability of access. The experience was carried out between 2008 and 2011 and involved direct and participant observations and open-ended interviews. In addition, negotiations were conducted with the institution responsible for the PAA for improve on the price of the fruit. The main results show that the PAA has contributed to increased income, increased consumption and variety of food and self-esteem. There was a re-arrangement in their way of participating in the program, meanwhile some of their traditional practices were relegated. The program rules were re-signified and adapted locally. While growing solidarity has been observed among the gatherers, competition for the fruits has also increas.
For more information:
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-20032014000300003
Dr. Dalva Mota