Bolsonaro's government: the producer of hunger in Brazil.

An article published in the newspaper "O Globo" this Thursday (October 27th) details how certain actions by the Bolsonaro (mis)government contribute to undermining the food security of Brazilians, while simultaneously fueling food insecurity. The result: 33 million Brazilians going hungry.

Giving a clear demonstration that food security was not part of his plans, Bolsonaro, on the very first day of his (mis)government, abolished the National Council for Food Security (Consea), a government advisory body that proposed actions to combat hunger.

The article shows that the budget for six programs that help combat hunger suffered a 38,4% reduction (from R$ 9,3 billion to R$ 5,7 billion) from 2019 to 2022. Worse: if the 2023 budget forecast is confirmed by Congress, the reduction will be even greater (52,9%), since only R$ 4,4 billion is allocated for these programs.

These cuts not only affect people's food security, but also interfere with the economy and job creation, as they directly impact family farming, which, as we already know, is responsible for the largest number of jobs in the countryside (many more than agribusiness) and for about 70% of the food that reaches Brazilian tables.

One example: the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) suffered a 39,32% reduction from 2019 to 2022 (from R$ 344,2 billion to R$ 208,9 billion). Created in 2003, during Lula's first term, the PAA promotes the purchase of food by municipalities directly from family farms. This food is distributed to people experiencing food insecurity. It is, therefore, a program to combat hunger and encourage family farming.

Another example is the Public Stock Formation program – family farming, which saw a reduction of 78,02% (from R$ 1,7 billion in 2019 to a paltry R$ 384 million in 2022). This program has existed for decades and is a government policy to guarantee price and income for small producers and regulates the price of products in the domestic market.

If only these two programs were treated as serious public policies, food price inflation certainly wouldn't be at the level it is today.

Crop Plan

It should also be noted that, as has been happening in recent years, the 2022/2023 Harvest Plan, which allocates funds for operating costs and investments to rural producers, reserves the smallest share of resources for family farming and favors agribusiness conglomerates, which are more concerned with profit than with feeding Brazilians, as they concentrate their production in so-called [small-scale agricultural areas]. commodities (products mainly destined for export, such as soybeans, sugar, coffee, corn, orange juice, etc.). While large and medium-sized producers benefited from R$ 287 billion, family farming received R$ 53,61 billion. 

It's an inconsistency.