Mercados institucionais e consumo social de alimentos: estudo comparativo entre Rio Grande do Sul e Andaluzia.

Abstract

The present scenario reveals important changes which converge to the acknowledgement concerning the transcendental role attributed to family farming in the national context, not supposing only the guarantee of the family supply but also an option of a balanced development of the society. In the European context, the family farming segment has achieved prominence due to its multifunctional feature, being associated for the development of activities of environmental preservation and intangible property among others. In southern Spain, mainly in Andalusia, family farmers have joined an innovative Project, called social consumption, an action in which the producers provide school canteens with organic food. The central purpose of this thesis is to make an approach between this public policy mechanism with the food institutional markets in Brazil, specially the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) and the School Feeding National Program (PNAE), having as an analysis universe the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Our study had been directed to elucidate the main similarities and differences between the two social contexts, mainly concerning the scope and limitations of these civic agrifood networks. To do so, we developed a qualitative study, which involved in loco data collection, through fifty-five interviews with the several social segments directly involved in carrying out the PAA and the PNAE and the Organic Food Social Consumption Program. The main results call attention for the relevance of public policies implemented in the studied areas, conforming to a positive scenario to establish supply channels based on closeness, reliability and citizenship. The initiatives also represent possibilities of local development as well as Access to organic food by a specific part of the population, particularly children at public schools. However, we noticed that there is a persistent situation of asymmetry and differences between the distinct segments involved in carrying out the programs. Similarly, the fact that the governance of the process is concentrated in public administration sectors, in some cases, weakens and threatens the continuation of such actions, seriously inhibiting the consolidation of the present initiatives, as they limit the full participation of family farmers in the process.