Monitoring and evaluation of the School Feeding Programme was the theme of the third workshop organized by the “Seeds for Tomorrow” project, financed by the IBSA Fund, to discuss the connection between family farming and school feeding.
The aim of the workshop was to share Brazil’s experiences and good practices on how the monitoring and evaluation model for the National School Feeding Programme (PNAE) was created and how it is controlled through the School Feeding Councils.
Brazil’s Evolution of Monitoring and Evaluation
Priscila Porrua, monitoring and evaluation coordinator of the FNDE (National Fund for Education Development) in Brazil, opened the event by presenting a history of the PNAE. She recalled that in the past Brazil had a school feeding campaign with a welfare bias and no monitoring system.
“Only in 2009, with the regulation of the National School Feeding Programme, was it necessary to redesign a logical matrix to be able to monitor. School Feeding Councils were created, which contributed to inserting social control into the monitoring of the programme, with visits to schools in a continuous and permanent action,” he said.
Among the monitoring actions are, for example, monitoring managers so that they buy local products. It also includes checking sanitary issues, quantity, and quality of food.
Priscila explained the steps involved in creating a monitoring model. “You have to answer the following questions: what is the objective of the programme; what change is expected; what is the theory of the programme; and how is it going to work, in other words, what is the logic model?”
She gave an example of a logic model built in the PNAE, with functions, activities, results and impacts of the PNAE, in the institutional and technical-operational dimension. “The model must include targets with measurable impact indicators. All the actions have a normative basis, i.e. they aim to check that the obligations of each body are being met.”
She believes that the Republic of Congo is at an advantage in promoting this process currently. “Only in 2020 did Brazil manage to carry out a nationwide evaluation of the PNAE. In the Republic of Congo, the process can be the result of reflection now, avoiding the mistakes we have already made.”
Mapping Existing School Feeding Projects
To do this, she says it is important to promote an internal dialog to map out what already exists as a school feeding project in the country. “It’s an exercise to identify what exists, who it serves, who does what, what the characteristics are. Then determine the objective, whether it will be a campaign or an action, for example. Determine how to do it and, finally, how to measure it,” she said.
She used a metaphor to explain the difference between evaluation and monitoring. “Evaluation is a photograph, a specific piece of information about the process. Monitoring is a movie that follows how things are going, how processes are unfolding. The two are complementary.”
The Role of Multisectoral Collaboration
The coordinator of the “Seeds for Tomorrow” project in the Republic of Congo, Nadia Goodman, stressed the importance of multisectoral action in this dialog.
“It’s important to promote the participation of various actors in the construction of the school feeding evaluation and monitoring model. We are privileged to have representatives from different key areas of government at this event: a very good representation from the Ministries of Education, Agriculture and Planning, Statistics and Regional Integration.”
Questions on Monitoring and Funding Mechanisms
One of the questions raised was how the Monitoring Centers (CECANE) work, a partnership between the FNDE and universities to create extension and research projects with students who are part of the PNAE monitoring area. “The FNDE decentralizes the resources and the technical teams from the universities monitor the managers,” explained Priscila.
There was also interest in knowing how the National School Feeding Programme is funded. Priscila explained that the calculation is made per pupil. “The amounts for purchasing food are calculated in a table with amounts per pupil and per year. Federal transfers are smaller, so they are complemented by municipal transfers, which invest their own resources in school meals.”
School Feeding Council (CAE)
The second part of the workshop featured a presentation by Maria Julia de Miguel Amistá, from the PNAE Social Control Support Coordination, on the School Feeding Council (CAE).
The CAE is a collegiate supervisory body responsible for certifying food quality, hygiene and sanitary control, financial execution, and accountability.
There is one CAE per municipality, and it is made up of one representative from the municipal executive, two education workers, two parents and two from civil society, all of whom have alternates. Since it is made up of volunteers, the FNDE provides training courses for the councilors.
Maria Julia described CAE’s areas of activity in the various stages of the school feeding procurement and preparation process. CAE’s role is to monitor the bidding process for the purchase of food; to certify the quality of the products purchased; the suitability of storage in terms of hygiene and refrigeration; and to check that the food has adequate sanitary characteristics.
“They also check the preparation and distribution, making sure that the equipment is suitable for preparing the food and that the hygiene conditions in the kitchen and canteens are correct; that the menus are being followed,” she said.
She explained that the menus must meet the requirements of the law, with foods indicated by the nutritionist, with justifications in the event of a change, and verification that they do not include prohibited foods. In the end, the menu must also pass the acceptability test.
When it finds an irregularity, the CAE is instructed to talk to the school management locally so that the error can be rectified. If there is no change, the CAE can contact the municipal control body, or refer the matter to the FNDE at federal level.
Madame Felicite Moukengue, Director of School Feeding from the Ministry of Education (MEPPSA) of the Republic of Congo, pointed out that there are no nutritionists in schools in the Republic of Congo, but that there is a body corresponding to the CAE, the COGES (Management Committees) responsible for checking hygiene issues, stocking, and preparing school meals, made up of nine members, including the school principal, a president, parents, and cooks.
In addition to government representatives from the Republic of Congo and the experts invited from the FNDE, the workshop was attended by Paola Barbieri, representative of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency; Anna Graziano, WFP representative and the focal point from the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Unit in Rome; and Maria Giulia Senesi, from the project coordination team at the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil.
Continuity
This workshop was the third in a series of three online events held this year as part of the “Seeds for Tomorrow” project. The first, on August 29, focused on institutions and public policies to strengthen family farmers. The second workshop, on September 19, dealt with local purchases linked to the school feeding programme.
At the end of the last workshop, representatives of the government of the Republic of Congo signaled their interest in continuing technical support actions to strengthen initiatives to integrate school meals with local agriculture.
About the project
Launched in June 2023, the “Seeds for Tomorrow” project aims to leverage Brazil’s expertise to enhance food security, education, and market access for farmers in the Republic of Congo.
In RoC, the project is facilitated by the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil and WFP Congo, in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Congo (MAEP, MEPPSA), the Government of Brazil (ABC, FNDE and MDA) and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). The project is financed by the India, Brazil and South Africa Fund for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund).
Original article: https://centrodeexcelencia.org.br/en/monitoramento-e-avaliacao-da-alimentacao-escolar-modelo-brasileiro-compartilhado-em-workshop/
