Characterization and analysis of the supply network of the Brazilian national school feeding programme

IMPACT

The Brazilian national school feeding programme (PNAE) is a tested model providing food security. The federal government designed it, but municipal and state governments deliver it. This article provides information on PNAE suppliers. It shows that it is possible to promote food security together with the local economy. However, a concern is that local managers sometimes find it easier to procure from just one or a few large, specialized companies. The authors explain how this problem can be dealt with.

ABSTRACT

The Brazilian national school feeding programme (PNAE) has the potential to promote local development because it is decentralized and often buys from family farms. A social network analysis involving the municipalities of the State of São Paulo and their suppliers was carried out between 2013 and 2017. The results indicate a large presence of small and local suppliers in contrast to earlier studies that found that purchasing from small farmers is problematic. This article investigates power relationships in institutional purchasing networks—a theoretical and empirical gap in the area—and explains how these relationships impact the implementation of public policies.

KEYWORDS:

• Brazilian national school feeding programme
• family farming
• local development
• institutional purchasing networks
• public procurement management
• social network analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the CAPES [grant number 001].