On May 16-17 2012 Brasilia hosted a high-level event on agriculture and development: the International Seminar on The Role of South-South Cooperation in Agricultural Development in Africa. Darana Souza, Programme Officer at the WFP Centre of Excellence against hunger, was invited to participate as a speaker in the Panel “Brazilian cooperation for development: new paradigm for agriculture development in Africa?”.

1. Paths for Brazil-Africa Cooperation in Food Security Policy
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger

2. The Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
• A partnership between the World Food Programme - WFP and the
Government of Brazil, located in Brasilia;
• Created to support governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America and
Caribbean in the areas of school feeding, nutrition and food security;
• Promote south-south dialogue by supporting knowledge sharing of
Brazil’s experience and related best practices;
• Facilitate training and capacity development activities for
governments to design and manage nationally-owned and led
programmes (study visits, technical missions, consultants).
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security

3. Highlights of the Brazilian Food Security Policy Experience
• Multi-dimensional
- Zero Hunger (2003, 4 axis);
- National Food and Nutritional Security Policy (2010, 8 guidelines).
• Multi-sectoral
- Programmes of different Ministries (since 1940´s);
- National Food and Nutritional Security Plan (2011, range of programmes).
• Multi-stakeholder
- 19 Ministries in National Food and Nutritional Security Chamber and Council;
- Wide civil society representation in Food and Nutritional Security conferences
and councils.
• Multi-tier
- Institutional arrangement in three levels: national, state, municipal (SISAN,
2006)
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security

4. Highlighted Programmes
Selected Programmes
• PAA (Food Purchase Programme)
- MDA / MDS: public purchase from family farmers for distribution in the
social assistance network and to build a strategic food reserves;
- Social-economic inclusion and access to food;
- 2011 budget: US$ 390 million;
- 200,000 farmers / 15 million people receive food items / year.
• PNAE (National School Feeding Programme)
- ME: minimum 1 meal a day for public basic education;
- Nutrition, education and local market opportunities;
- 2011 budget: US$ 1.9 billion;
- 47 million students / year;
- 30% of funds for purchase from family farmers.
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security

5. Sharing the Brazilian experience: PAA Africa
The Program
• Starts in 2012, targets 10 African countries
• Aims to contribute to food security and income generation by linking
small-scale farmers to food assistance initiatives through local food
purchase
• Basic features: pilot project for local food purchase per country;
knowledge strengthening of stakeholder for longer-term local food
purchase strategy within national policy
• Two strategies:
10.GoB (humanitarian cooperation), WFP, FAO + DFID
11.GoB (technical cooperation), FAO
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security

6. Sharing the Brazilian experience: PAA Africa
Opportunities
• Build on existing similar initiatives in Africa (P4P and HGSF);
• Support smallholder farmers by promoting potentially large and stable
demand along with profitable prices;
• Strengthen the provision of diversified and nutritionally balanced
meals and rations in food assistance programmes;
• Support low-carbon food supply chains.
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security

7. Sharing the Brazilian experience: PAA Africa
Challenges
• Differences of national contexts such as institutional capacity,
smallholder profile and production, design and implementation
mechanisms of food assistance programmes;
• Small-scale cooperation experience, need to ensure sustainability
and scale up:
- Ensure government ownership and capacity;
- Guarantee that an expected increasing universe of smallholder
farmers can respond to demand;
- Further strengthen food assistance programmes.
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security

8. Sharing the Brazilian experience: PAA Africa
Conclusions
• Strategic opportunity to share the Brazilian experience in
implementing local food purchase and to build on similar experiences in
Africa;
• Occasion to increase joint support for the different dimensions of
food security (food production, access to food, food utilization,
environment);
• The possibility for this cooperation experience to achieve its full
potential will to a great extent depend on how solidly it will be
implemented and further developed in each country context.
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security

9. Thank you ! Darana Souza
Programme Officer
darana.souza@wfp.org
Centre of Excellence Against Hunger
Capacity Development in School Feeding, Nutrition and Food Security