One of the main concerns of the (Landless Rural Workers Movement) with the government () involves the (PAA) of family farming.
The landless claim that the PT’s management of politics made the movement produce in accordance with it. However, the budget allocated to the policy today is insufficient to cover family agricultural production.
In 2023, the (National Supply Company), linked to the Ministry of Agrarian Development, received around R$1.1 billion in proposals for agricultural projects.
That year, R$606 million were contracted by Conab, and, in 2024, R$130 million. Representatives state that production was planned based on the projects presented and that, therefore, there is a deficit of more than R$360 million between the projects received by Conab and those actually contracted.
“The entities presented projects, produced and continue to produce and have not received until now. There was a whole expectation from social movements that the PAA, which dialogues with one of Lula’s main banners, which is the fight against hunger, would return with strength, and that’s not what we’re seeing”, says Diego Moreira, from the MST leadership.
“It’s a lack of responsibility on the part of the government. If, on the one hand, we have problems of hunger and shortages, and, on the other hand, there are farmers offering, the government should have a budget”, he adds.
“There is a significant supply of products from family farming settlements that need to be absorbed by the government’s institutional policies. There is a very large bureaucracy. The programs that once boosted production and supply are now having difficulty running”, he concludes. .
The PAA budget comes from the Ministry of Social Development, and its operationalization comes from Conab. Supplementing resources for the program has been discussed internally within the government since March this year.
As the Mônica Bergamo column showed, the landless are demanding, in addition to resolving the problems in the PAA, the settlement of 70 thousand camped families.
In a note, Conab states that the R$ 735 million made in the purchase modality with simultaneous donation in 2023 and 2024 “made it possible to contract 2,635 projects, serving 54 thousand food supplying families”.
“It is estimated that 104 thousand tons of food will be purchased, serving people in situations of food insecurity, in 1,191 municipalities”, he adds.
in turn, states that “it has acted attentively and proactively to find ways to reinforce the budget of this important program to promote food and nutritional security, even in the face of the challenges posed by the current economic situation”.
In a note, the ministry says that the budget for the PAA in 2023 was around R$1 billion, of which R$692 million was transferred to Conab and R$308 million was agreed directly with states and municipalities. In 2024, the program’s total budget was R$376 million, with R$193 million for Conab, and R$183 million directly for states and municipalities.
The ministry also states that the demands accumulated over the years preceding the current government are considerable, that it has recovered the PAA budget in the last two years and that it remains committed “to promoting productive inclusion and access for the population in vulnerable situations to healthy foods, contributing to the eradication of poverty, hunger and food and nutritional insecurity in our country in partnership with social movements.”
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