Effects of population density and proximity of urban areas on the effectiveness of the Brazilian Food Acquisition Program

Abstract

The food purchase program of Brazilian Federal Government known as PAA (acronym for Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos, in Portuguese) was created in 2004 and, since then, has as main goal provide an institutional market to food that helps family farms and urban families in situations of social vulnerability, through the “Fome Zero” (Zero Hunger) program. As part of a broader project, this paper analyzes the impact of population density and proximity to the urban centers on the PAA effectiveness. Starting from the principle of complementarity between rural and urban spaces, based on the von Thünen’s model of agricultural land to test the influence of the presence of large urban areas on the PAA effectiveness level.  The research used data from municipal population across the country provided by IBGE and the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development (MDS). The results indicate a significant correlation between population concentrations, particularly metropolitan areas, and the biggest records of farmers supported by the PAA, which can be explained both by the existence of diversified agriculture (“greenbelts”) and by the demand for institutional purchases generated by the concentration of people in social vulnerability living in the large urban centers.