Aquisição de alimentos da agricultura familiar em restaurantes universitários das instituições federais de ensino superior do Brasil

Abstract

Family Farming (FF) is the main responsible for the production of food that is made available for the consumption of the Brazilian population, being made up of small rural producers, traditional communities, agrarian reform settlers, among others. The country's Federal Institutions of Higher Education, through their University Restaurants, are favorable settings for or the use of Family Agriculture food. In addition to having the purpose of providing balanced and low-cost meals, they should also assure Food and Nutritional Security (FNS) and ensure the Human Right to Adequate and Healthy Food (HRAHF). In this sense, the objective of this research was to analyze the possibility of acquiring food from Family Agriculture by the University Restaurants of Higher Education Institutions. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and exploratory study with a quantitative approach, involving field research. For data collection, two semi-structured questionnaires were applied via e-mail, through Google Forms. One questionnaire was addressed to the University Restaurants managers and the other to family farmer organizations in the Cuiabá lowlands. All 67 Federal Institutions of Higher Education registered on the website of the National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (ANDIFES) were invited to participate in the research, of which 28 answered the form. Of the 10 local Family Agriculture organizations invited, eight participated. Of the total 28 responses from the Federal Institutions of Higher Education, 16 acquire food from FF, 19 have outsourced management, and 6 farmers already market their products to institutional markets. The use of food from FF by Federal Institutions of Higher Education has been occurring, however, most of the time, this acquisition does not occur via the Food Purchase Program - Institutional Buying (PAA-CI) and does not meet the decree that institutes the minimum acquisition of 30% of federal funds for the purchase of FF. This can perhaps be explained by the outsourcing of food services at the University Restaurants, in which case, the management of the services is left to outsourced companies. A joint effort of the Federal Institutions of Higher Education and outsourced companies is necessary, as well as the articulation with farmers to enable and consolidate the acquisition of Family Farming, so that the University Restaurants act as instruments to strengthen the FF and guarantee Food and Nutritional Security (FNS).