Agricultura familiar e Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar: categorias analíticas, mercado de compras e papel dos burocratas de nível de rua

Abstract

The objective is to analyze the integration of family farming into the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), using purchasing experiences from municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Cariri (RMC – Ceará) as the empirical basis and the theoretical framework of the street-level bureaucracy construct. The first article aims to delimit analytical categories in Brazilian academic research on family farming. It is a literature review study with a qualitative, exploratory, and documentary approach. The database comprises theses and dissertations registered in the Capes Theses and Dissertations Catalog, within the major area of knowledge "Applied Social Sciences." The content was subjected to computerized lexicographical analysis using the Iramuteq software and grouped according to Habermas' theory of cognitive interest. In addition to the methodology class, centered on qualitative approach resources, three other classes reflect technical, practical, and emancipatory interests. Even with an emphasis on management and economic efficiency (technical interest), stricto sensu research on family farming shows orientations toward the field of hermeneutics (practical interest) and perspectives of strengthening and emancipation of this socio-productive category (emancipatory interest). The second article seeks to characterize the institutional market for family farming food purchases in the municipalities of the Cariri Metropolitan Region (RMC/CE) within the scope of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). The results reveal progress in acquisitions of groups of fresh and minimally processed products supplied by local producers. The prices paid are, on average, higher than those in the Wholesale Center. Purchases comply with the legal minimum of 30%. The third article focuses on understanding the connections between the actions of street-level bureaucrats and the execution of family farming purchases in the context of the Metropolitan Region of Cariri/Ceará state. Primary data were collected using a semi-structured interview instrument and analyzed through qualitative content analysis, with the theory of street-level bureaucracy as a reference. The results show that factors such as the minimum requirement of 30% (Law No. 11,947, of June 16, 2009) of purchases from family farming contribute to integrating local producers into the institutional market. This occurs through the relative autonomy of bureaucrats, allowing adjustments to the school menu to meet local production conditions and continuous interactions between bureaucracy and family farmers, enabling adaptations that enhance PNAE's effectiveness. In conclusion, the actions of street-level bureaucrats reveal constant interactions with farmers, creating implementation arrangements essential for integrating family farming into the institutional food market.