This week marks the end of the study visit by the Congolese delegation to family farming and school feeding initiatives in Brazil. Following the beginning of activities in Maricá on the 11th, the delegation proceeded to Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, where it has been since Monday (the 18th).
During the visit, various activities were conducted. The delegation has already visited the Pacová Cooperative, comprised of 33 banana producers and 12 peelers. The cooperative serves as an intermediary association in the local marketing of products and participation in the National School Feeding Program (PNAE, in Portuguese). The Campinho Quilombo was also visited, which has autonomous production of various foods in the agroecological forest and supplies the Campinho Quilombo School.
On Tuesday (the 19th), activities started at the Paraty City Cinema, with discussions with the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture on the challenges faced in implementing the PNAE in the municipality. Throughout the day, visits were made to the PNAE’s Food Distribution Center, the Municipal School Professor Pequenina Calixto, where school feeding was observed in practice, including analyses of acquisition and consumption logistics. In addition to this visit, the delegation was able to visit a rural area that processes cassava flour by artisanal means, which also participates in the municipality’s PNAE programme, where interactions took place between the small farmers, Paraty’s agriculture department and the delegation.
The delegation continues with a series of inter-ministerial meetings to analyze the information collected on the association of strategies for family agricultural production and school feeding in Brazil, seeking ways to implement them in the Republic of Congo.
This second technical study visit was conducted by the WFP and implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (USDA) and India, Brazil, South Africa fund (IBSA), as a part of the project ‘Enhancing Family Farmers access to local markets in the Republic of Congo through South-South Cooperation’ launched in September 2023.
Under USDA’s program, WFP aims to reduce hunger, to improve literacy and primary education, especially for girls, by providing school meals, teacher training and related support and to increase school enrollment and academic performance.