Challenges

The concerns of Brazil with food security took a serious turn in the early 2000s as the country advanced in terms of economic development, yet challenges related to hunger still persisted. Over 40 million people were found to be affected by food insecurity, a structural condition that significantly hindered the advancement of any development agenda in the country. Although the agriculture sector thrived, rural proprieties were focused mainly on commodity production, and smallholder farmers were not able to keep up with the growing demand for food. Government programmes enabled a structural U-turn in food security in the country, which now seeks to contribute to food security through sharing past experiences across the Global South

Toward a Solution

The More Food International programme was created after the meeting “Brazil-Africa Talks on Food Safety, Hunger Alleviation, and Rural Development”, which was held in May 2010 in Brasilia. The meeting was attended by high-level representatives from Brazil, Africa and international organizations focused on agriculture and agrarian development. The main goal of the programme was to ensure food and nutritional security via access to technology and mechanization for family and smallholder farmers. That was to be achieved through Brazilian public-sector actors, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), the Bank of Brazil and ABC, alongside international public-sector and private-sector collective actors and private individuals.

The methodology of the More Food International programme involved four individual, but integrated, approaches: (a) international cooperation between developing countries on public policies on family farming and agrarian development; (b) access for least developed countries (LDCs) and middle-income countries to technologies, machinery, equipment and agricultural implements; (c) technical cooperation for food production resulting in more resilient and more productive family farming; and (d) export of agricultural machinery, equipment and implements from the Brazilian planting and processing industry. The programme involved bilateral arrangements between Brazil and a beneficiary country, with the scope depending on the specific demands of each country in terms of sustainable development.

In terms of outcomes, Brazil provided food and technical assistance for all participating countries. In Cuba, the focus was on the mechanization of cooperatives and associations as well as family farmers under the regime of usufruct of public lands by both groups, under State supervision. In Ghana, Machinery Service Centres were created for the provision of qualified assistance and services in mechanics for family farmers. In Senegal, farmers were selected through regional and local committees, with priority for those organized in cooperatives and associations, to benefit from equipment and implements alongside government actors that work in the area of technical assistance and rural extension. In Zimbabwe, results included direct financing to family farmers as well as their associations and cooperatives to purchase equipment and implements, with a major focus on irrigation. Finally, in Mozambique, equipment was destined to service centres and used as part of one of the strategies of local government in its National Plan for Agricultural Mechanization. Besides stimulating Brazilian exports of agricultural machinery and equipment, especially for small-scale farming, the programme resulted in the transfer of technology to beneficiary countries, with Zimbabwe acquiring 320 pieces of equipment and tractors in 2014 and Mozambique and Senegal receiving 513 and 175 tractors, respectively, in 2015.

As part of the Brazilian foreign policy agenda, the More Food International programme aims at accomplishing not only the SDGs but also the key transformational outcomes of Agenda 2063 of the African Union, promoting the eradication of extreme poverty, the reduction of social inequalities and the end of hunger. With the participation of players from the public and private sectors, the elaboration of strategies depends on the synergies of multiple goals; with adequate coordination, the project has succeeded in creating a scheme that benefits all countries involved not only in social development but also in increasing exports and economic growth. As the More Food International programme advanced, the Brazilian equipment was purchased by the national government of partner countries in separate arrangements, each having its goals, strategies and ways of making the material available to family farmers.