Brasilia, 20 May 2016 – “Brazil managed to exit the UN Hunger Map, and we are here to see how we can adapt this experience to our situation so that someday we will also be able to leave the Hunger Map behind”. These words by a manager from Burkina Faso, in Africa, indicate just one of the reasons why experts and policymakers from different continents are interested in learning about Brazil´s social protection system. But following the visit of the foreign delegations – 455 during the last six years – what do they claim to have actually learned here?
Taking advantage of the attendance by over 150 international managers at the XI International Seminar on Social Policies for Development, the Brazil Learning Initiative for a World without Poverty (WWP) asked participants what makes Brazil´s experience a global reference in this area.
The answers reveal points of view that mirror the political and institutional situations of individual countries.
For Uruguay, for example, the main interest was the participation by civil society in food security policies; for the Kenyans, the key point worth noting was that Brazil´s programs are enshrined in law.
The topics addressed during the Seminar, organized by the Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, included the main pillars of Brazil´s social protection system, consisting of the Unified Registry, information management, social assistance and food security.
This latter topic aroused great interest among participants, especially after their visit to the Federal District Central Supply Depot (DF-CEASA), the capital´s large agricultural produce market that forms part of the country´s food safety system.
At the CEASA, the family farmers who receive government incentives to increase productivity sell their products to small and middle-sized traders. Furthermore, the government itself can purchase the products through the Food Acquisition Program(PAA) for passing to social assistance bodies such as daycare centers, orphanages and hospices.
The following are some of the main points raised by managers in their statements.
“We are implementing several social programs in our country. We have four cash transfer programs. We are also running school nutrition programs in arid and semi-arid areas, and we have tried various innovations to increase efficiency. For example, we have introduced biometric registration for cash transfers, and we are making progress towards digital targeting. However, we soon realized that we also needed to see what other countries were doing. We chose Brazil given that it is quite advanced in this respect. We have learned a lot from you. Most of the things you are doing here, and your policies, are enshrined in law. That is not the case in Kenya. A further point: the only cash transfer program with conditionalities in our country is that aimed at vulnerable children. We might start introducing conditionalities, but I do not know what the delegation will decide. Here in Brazil you are also very well organized in terms of governance structure, with various committees and councils, etc. We do not have anything like that in our country.”
Cecilia Mbaka (Kenya)
Head of the Kenyan Social Protection Department
“In terms of social protection, Brazil has achieved its goals in a short time. This has drawn Mozambique´s attention to the strategies used to reduce indicators such as chronic malnutrition, poverty and food insecurity. During our visit to Brazil, what most caught my attention was the Food Acquisition Program (PAA). We have a school nutrition program underway in Mozambique, but there are always plenty of fresh challenges. For example, Brazil’s approach involving applying the PAA to social markets, and not only to nutrition in the schools, has inspired us to think about how we can take advantage of the food produced by our family farmers by delivering it to hospitals, orphanages, barracks, etc. In other words, we could benefit from the work of our family farmers to supply food to these sectors. One of the best things I saw at CEASA was how the Food Bank was actually structured, with zero waste. In Mozambique, food is wasted which could be recovered and used.”
Edgar Cossa (Mozambique)
Head of Food Safety Promotion Department
“Brazil is one of Latin America´s references in terms of social policies, and I think that it is the country that has made most progress on the issue of food security. I was very impressed with the system for working with civil society. The idea of civil society participating in food security issues and helping define policies is certainly a step forward. The fact that the State encourages civil society to participate in formulating social policy is, in my view, very important, because social policies have the support of civil society, and Brazil´s experience in this respect is outstanding. Also, what is extraordinary is how the policies are so widely implemented in such a large territory… of truly continental size.”
Manuel Vásquez (Uruguay)
From the Uruguayan Ministry of Social Development
“We are here to learn about Brazil´s experience in the areas of social protection policy and food and nutrition security. Brazil was able to leave the UN Hunger Map, and we are here to see how we can adapt this experience to our situation, so that someday we will also be able to leave the Hunger Map behind and ensure food and nutrition security for our people. During the visits I was much impressed by Brazil´s experience with school canteens. You are really advanced in this respect. For example, the quality of childrens´ diets is being improved with the help of nutritionists. This is a great lesson for us. I hope that in a few years time we will be able to come back here to share with you the lessons we have learned and show you how we have been able to absorb in Burkina Faso Brazil´s new and dynamic experience.”
Benedicta Akotionga Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso)
Executive Secretary of the National Food Security Council
“In Senegal we have a social protection system which we try to model on Brazilian lines. The most interesting thing that I learned here was how family farming is developed. The State helps these families to be autonomous so as to escape poverty by helping them to acquire land and by providing agricultural loans, all of which is very important.”
Dr. Rokhaya Diakhate (Senegal)
Responsible for the Senegalese General Delegation of Social Protection and National Solidarity
“The social assistance system in Brazil is better than we thought. There are two things that I found most interesting: the first is the loan schemes available to small farmers. With loans, farmers have an opportunity to work and improve their lives. The second thing that impressed me most was the community restaurants which charge only 3 reais for a meal. In China, we have such restaurants only for older people, not for the poor in general. Monitoring is also very good.”
Chen Xunchui (China)
(Administrative Deputy-Director of the Center for Monitoring and Verification of Low Income Families of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China)
“For us, what is interesting in Brazil is how all the stakeholders are integrated. In other words, it is not a matter of one single ministry. And it is not just a case of increased income for families. Many other aspects are taken into account such as food, education, health, energy. I was impressed by the degree of coordination of all the ministries, and especially by the State’s commitment to implement the program (Brazil Without Extreme Poverty). It is not an easy task.”
Irenee Arimanana Ravelojaona (Madagascar)
Director of Shocks Response and Social Protection Risks of the Ministry of Population, Social Protection and Advancement of Women
Also, take a look at this video that summarizes the XI International Seminar on Social Policies for Development:
Marco Prates, WWP