Contributions of the Food Acquisition Program to the strengthening of family farming, food and nutritional security: an integrative review (Silva et al., 2025)

Established in 2003 as part of the "Zero Hunger" Program, the Food Purchase Program (PAA) is a crucial structural public policy to combat hunger and strengthen family farming. The program has suffered systematic budgetary and operational dismantling, concomitantly with Brazil’s rise in food insecurity. This integrative literature review examines the significance of PAA in ensuring food sovereignty and empowering family farming. The literature search was conducted in December 2022, encompassing Portuguese, Spanish, and English publications within a ten-year timeframe. The databases used were SciELO and BVS, which include LILACS and MEDLINE. Thirty-five publications were identified, and eight articles were included in this review after analysis. The documented experiences demonstrate the effectiveness of the PAA in combating hunger and contributing to the promotion of food security in rural families. Nevertheless, the program faces challenges related to budget cuts, the discontinuation of operational modalities and the lack of structure as a State policy. In light of this, there is an urgent need to revise the PAA's organizational structures and consolidate this program as a critical state policy, not only to ensure its resistance but also to regain its effectiveness.

PAA: Two Decades of Strategic Contribution to Combating Hunger and Developing Family Farming in Brazil (Nunes et al., 2025)

In 2023, the Food Procurement Programme marked two decades since its inception. The programme has become the second most important instrument for the productive inclusion of family farmers in Brazil, with a view to building markets aimed at ensuring food and nutritional security for the most vulnerable sections of the population. Since its inception and through successive changes of government, Brazil was removed from the hunger map in 2014, but returned to it in 2022. Despite this, the programme has gradually expanded the family farming production chain and has been underpinned by legislation that has had practical effects in improving the programme and meeting the demands of producers and consumers. The literature has highlighted various achievements brought about by the programme, such as the marketing and guarantee of sales; increased income, improved quality of life and greater autonomy for producers; diversification of production; integration into the production system; and the expansion of the social welfare network receiving the products; amongst others.

Food Procurement Programme: a logical-evaluative analysis of the institutional procurement model (Salgado et al., 2025):

This article presents the theoretical premises underpinning the Food Procurement Programme in its institutional procurement modality (PAA-CI), using the logic model methodology to describe the links between actions, outputs and expected outcomes, as well as proposing an evaluation model. The analysis was based on institutional materials, legal documents relating to the PAA and a review of the literature. The method used was based on Cassiolato and Gueresi (2015) and WKKF (2004). The results outlined the programme’s logic model, broadening the evaluation to include key actors, state capacities and performance barriers. Created against a backdrop of concerns about hunger, malnutrition and nutritional challenges, the PAA-CI goes beyond public procurement. The diversity of objectives requires complementary actions, such as agricultural extension and the dissemination of information to family farmers, preparing them to access this market. Furthermore, it is essential to train public managers to adapt menus and administrative processes to the specific characteristics of family farming and the programme’s objectives. These actions are fundamental to ensuring the policy’s effective implementation across different organisational and territorial contexts, thereby contributing to the effectiveness of public policy and the promotion of healthy and sustainable diets.

Social Protection Series – Policy Brief #3: Adequacy of Brazilian social protection programs to the needs of children and adolescents (Arruda, 2024):

Brazil’s Food Acquisition Program (PAA) directs food from farmers to public institutions like hospitals and orphanages through its Purchase with Simultaneous Donation (CDS) initiative. The PAA influenced Brazil’s National School Feeding Program (PNAE), which, from 2009 onwards, mandated that at least 30% of school meal ingredients be sourced from family farmers (GoB & IPEA, 2022). Though research on the PAA’s direct impact on children’s well-being remains limited, studies highlight positive trends. Social workers in Minas Gerais observed improved health and growth metrics among children receiving PAA-supported meals (D’Ávila & Silva, 2012). Similarly, research in Dracena, São Paulo, linked the program’s nutrient-rich foods to reduced illness rates, particularly among children and the elderly (Antunes & Hespanhol, 2011).

Public food procurement and food security: an assessment of the impacts of the PAA on family farming in Brazil (Sambuichi et al., 2024):

PAA-CDS contributed to an average increase of 24.2% in farmers' gross income from production. The poorest benefited the most, with an increase of 45.9% for farmers in the 10th percentile of gross income. Regarding the diversity of production, we estimated a significant positive impact of the program on the diversity index and the number of products, as well as a reduction in the specialization of gross income. These results suggest that the program's design can be effective for its primary purposes.

Vinte anos de compras da agricultura familiar: um marco para as políticas públicas de desenvolvimento rural e segurança alimentar e nutricional no Brasil (Sambuichi & Silva, 2023):

This book brings together several chapters that deal with the program's logical model, analysis of the diversity of products acquired by the PAA, analysis of the program's execution in Brazilian municipalities, how the program operated during the Covid-19 pandemic, systematic review of the literature on the program since its inception in 2003, the program's contributions to food and nutritional security and a study that highlights the impact of the program on the production of family farmers.

O Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos: contribuições à agricultura familiar e à segurança alimentar e nutricional no Rio Grande do Sul (Dutra, 2023):

The Food Acquisition Programme (PAA) acts as a "school" for smallholder farmers, using the Purchase with Simultaneous Donation (Compra com Doação Simultânea) as a primary entry point to transition them from subsistence to formal markets. By incentivising farmers to organise into cooperatives to manage logistics, the programme boosts their structural efficiency and political power. Meeting the PAA's varied demands also drives agricultural diversification, which enhances the producing families' own dietary quality. Ultimately, this guaranteed institutional market generates an average minimum wage income, providing financial stability that allows families to invest in their land and encourages the youth to remain in the countryside.

Public policies, food and nutrition security, and sustainable food systems: convergences from the Food Acquisition Program (Grisa, 2021):

This study presents a more recent reflection, connecting the Food Acquisition  Program (PAA)  to the debate on sustainable food systems. Created in 2003 in  Brazil,  the  Food Acquisition Program (PAA) links  the  strengthening  of family  farming  with actions related to food and nutritional security and social assistance. Its originality, innovations, and results have attracted the attention of academia and various political and institutional spheres in the country and around the world. This chapter aims to explore the reasons for this prominence by analyzing the contributions of the PAA to food and nutritional security and to the construction of sustainable food systems. Furthermore, it  seeks  to  assess  the  extent  to  which  international  projections have been reflected in the program’s national trajectory. The results point to important convergences between public policies, food  and  nutritional  security, and the construction of sustainable food systems.

The Development of the Food Procurement Programme (PAA): an analysis of its implementation, benefits and challenges (Perin et al., 2021):

Created in 2003 with the objective of promoting family farming and combating food insecurity of people in vulnerable situations, the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) has been an important marketing channel for small rural producers and a relevant way of promoting access to healthy food public policy. Throughout its trajectory, several normative and institutional changes were made in order to improve its implementation. This work aims to analyze the evolution of the implementation of PAA along its trajectory in the period 2003-2019, seeking to understand how changes in its regulations and execution history may have influenced the results of the program in relation to its main benefits and challenges. The method used in this study included document analysis, systematic literature review and content analysis. The document analysis revealed three main periods of PAA’s implementation. The initial period (2003-2008) was of learning and organizing processes both at the managerial and local level. The intermediate period (2009-2013) had as main characteristics the strengthening of the program, marked by the role of the National Supply Company (Conab), the emergence of another implementation modality (by Adhesion Term, operated by the Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger (MDS) and, finally, the Agro-Fantasma Operation, which caused an abrupt drop in program operations at the end of this period. In the most recent period (2014- 2019), after a slight initial resumption of resources, there was a continuous reduction in the amounts invested in the PAA, reaching the end of the period at the lowest levels in its history.

The Food Acquisition Program (PAA) as a strategy to face the challenges of COVID-19 (Sambuichi et al., 2020):

The results showed that, in an optimal scenario, the rise of investment could provide a wide capillarization of the benefits of the program. The results point out that the PAA is strategic to face the negative effects of COVID-19 because it helps family farming products reach the consumers, structuring production chains, facilitating access to new markets, and inducing economic dynamics, in addition to combating hunger and extreme poverty of families living in vulnerability. Also, the research found that the program is in operational conditions and adapted to the reality of the pandemic, following protocols established by health authorities. Therefore, the PAA can minimize health and economic crises for the most vulnerable population. It addresses the demands of the organized civil society and recommendations from national and international organizations specialized in reducing the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impactos do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) no Rendimento Escolar dos Municípios do Paraná (Cattelan & Ferreto, 2019):

This paper showed that the age/grade distortion rate variable in the initial years of elementary school, for the group formed by municipalities affected by the PAA, achieved a statistically significant improvement in relation to municipalities that did not participate in the program.

Três gerações de políticas públicas para a agricultura familiar e formas de interação entre sociedade e estado no Brasil (Grisa & Schneider, 2014):

This article presents a structural analysis of the evolution of public policies aimed at family farming, contributing to an understanding of the context in which the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) is situated. The article seeks to emphasize the “generations” or policy frameworks that were strengthened at key moments, the ways in which these frameworks were constructed, and the relationships between the State and civil society. The analysis points to the emergence, in different periods and contexts, of three generations or policy frameworks for family farming: the first focused on strengthening the agricultural and agrarian dimension of this social category; the second centered on social and welfare policies; and the third on the construction of markets oriented toward food security and environmental sustainability. This analysis also highlights that the relationships between the State and civil society have changed and become more complex over time. From critical and reivindicative positions, civil society has moved toward a more proactive role and, more recently, has also become a partner in the implementation and co-management of public policies. It is worth noting that the three generations of public policies and the various forms of relationship between civil society and the State currently coexist in public arenas.  

Structured Demand and Smallholder Farmers in Brazil: the Case of PAA and PNAE (Soares et al., 2013):

It is striking that the region with the lowest average income of people self-employed in agriculture, the Northeast, is also found to be the region with the lowest proportion of cooperatives or government as the main buyer of family farmers’ production. These facts suggest that the regional distribution of PAA resources which prioritises the Northeast is correctly distributed from the perspective of its poverty reduction objectives. Moreover, about 43 per cent of PAA/CDS suppliers, which is the predominant modality of the PAA with almost 85 per cent of the resources, are registered in the single registry (CadÚnico), and most of those registered are beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia. Not surprisingly, the PAA became the most important component of the ‘rural productive inclusion’ pillar of the Brasil sem Miseria plan, the current flagship intervention of the Brazilian government. The recent institutional and budgetary evolution of both programmes, the PAA and PNAE, clearly demonstrate the commitment of the stakeholders involved in their design and implementation to ensuring that the programmes fit the needs of both family farmers (supply side) and the final consumers of their produce (demand side). Whereas the PAA allows smallholder farmers to sell their production surplus, mainly locally, in small amounts with irregular supply, the PNAE can boost the gains from the PAA, as it offers a larger and steady demand — however, with more challenges for the producers.

Contribuições do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos à segurança alimentar e nutricional e à criação de mercados para a agricultura familiar (Grisa et al., 2011):

This article directly addresses the Food Acquisition Program (PAA), aimed at promoting food and nutritional security and transforming the productive structure and market access conditions of family farming, highlighting its fundamental role in integrating food security with the strengthening of family farming in Brazil. The authors detail how this public policy encourages productive diversification and the cultivation of organic foods, reducing small producers’ dependence on intermediaries. The text describes the different modalities of the program, highlighting benefits such as improvements in school meals and the appreciation of previously neglected regional food cultures. Despite its positive impacts on income and rural social organization, the research points to significant obstacles, including logistical limitations, excessive bureaucracy, and shortcomings in technical assistance. In summary, the article has become a reference for studies conducted in different regions of the country, focusing on the implementation process of the PAA, its effects, impacts, and challenges.  

References

Arruda, P. L. (2024). Adequacy of Brazilian social protection programs to the needs of children and adolescents (Social Protection Series – Policy Brief No. 3). United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC).

Cattelan, R., & Ferreto, L. E. D. (2019). Impacts of the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) on school performance in municipalities of Paraná. Revista de Ensino, Educação e Ciências Humanas, 20(4), 446–451.

Dutra, A. D. C. (2023). O Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos: contribuições à agricultura familiar e à segurança alimentar e nutricional no Rio Grande do Sul. Undergraduate thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.

Grisa, C., Schmitt, C. J., Mattei, L. F., Maluf, R. S., & Leite, S. P. (2011). Contributions of the Food Acquisition Program to food and nutrition security and the creation of markets for family farming. Agriculturas, 8(3), 34–41.

Grisa, C., & Schneider, S. (2014). Three generations of public policies for family farming and forms of interaction between society and the State in Brazil. Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural, 52(Suppl. 1), S125–S146.

Grisa, C. (2021). Public policies, food and nutrition security, and sustainable food systems: Convergences from the Food Acquisition Program. In C. M. Galanakis (Ed.), Food Security and Nutrition (pp. 181–207). Academic Press.

Nunes, M. A., Balbino, T. F., & Ferreira, V. B. (2025). The Food Acquisition Program (PAA): Two decades of strategic contribution to combating hunger and promoting family farming in Brazil. Revista Espinhaço, 15(1).

Perin, G., Almeida, A. F. C. S., Spínola, P. A. C., Pella, A. F. C., & Sambuichi, R. H. R. (2021). The evolution of the Food Acquisition Program (PAA): An analysis of its implementation trajectory, benefits, and challenges (Texto para Discussão No. 2691). Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Ipea).

Salgado, R. J. S. F., Souza, W. J., & Ferreira, M. A. M. (2024). Food Acquisition Program: A logical-evaluative analysis of the institutional procurement modality. Planejamento E Políticas Públicas, 67.

Sambuichi, R. H. R., Almeida, A. F. C. S., Perin, G., Spínola, P. A. C., & Pella, A. F. C. (2020). The Food Acquisition Program (PAA) as a strategy to address the challenges of COVID-19. Revista de Administração Pública, 54(4). 1079–1096.

Sambuichi, R. H. R., Paula, S. R., Perin, G., Almeida, A. F. C. S., Gualdani, C., & Marques, F. J. (2024). Public food procurement and food security: An assessment of the impacts of the PAA on family farming in Brazil. Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente, 63, 197–225.

Sambuichi, R. H. R., & Silva, S. P. (Eds.). (2023). Twenty years of family farming procurement: A milestone for public policies on rural development and food and nutrition security in Brazil. Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea).

Silva, V. C., Barim, E. M., & Murta-Nascimento, C. (2025). Contributions of the Food Acquisition Program to strengthening family farming and food and nutrition security: An integrative review. Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva, 35(1).

Soares, F. V., Nehring, R., Schwengber, R. B., Rodrigues, C. G., & Lambais, G. (2013). Structured demand and smallholder farmers in Brazil: The case of PAA and PNAE. International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG).