The director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, Daniel Balaban, and the Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger (MDS), Wellington Dias, met in Brasilia on Friday, January 5, to advance discussions on strategies to strengthen smallholder farming, including food purchases.
After the meeting, technical teams from the WFP Centre of Excellence and the Ministry announced their intention to offer a training course for smallholder farmers so that they can sell food to the World Food Programme (WFP).
In 2021 alone, WFP purchased 4.4 million metric tons of food, valued at $2.4 billion. This represented a 34% increase in volume compared to 2020 and 84% more than in 2011. Meanwhile, Brazil has recognized experience in promoting public procurement of smallholder farming, such as the Food Acquisition Program (PAA, in Portuguese), which acquires food produced by smallholder farmers to distribute to social assistance entities and public facilities.
“Brazil, as a major food producer, mainly because of smallholder farmers who have a huge production, has a role that can also be to help end hunger on the planet,” said Daniel Balaban.
The agreement is part of the efforts of Brazil, which in 2024 holds the presidency of the G20, a group that brings together the largest economies on the planet, for a global alliance against hunger, for poverty reduction, for more equality and for the reduction of the impacts of climate change.
With information from MDS