Macaé farmers benefiting from the FNO Social Program receive R$1.8 million to supply school meals

Rural producers benefiting in Rio de Janeiro from PDCIS, the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation’s social program, have been awarded a contract to supply lunch to schools in the Macaé Municipal Education Network. This was achieved by approving the Sana Family Farmers’ Association (APAF) in Public Call 002/2024, by the Macaé City Hall and the municipality’s Department of Education, in an agreement that totals around 1.8 million reais and runs until May 2025.

Achievement boosts the local economy and benefits students and farmers in the region

With more than a decade’s experience in providing school meals, APAF, founded in 2012 with 12 members, now has 47, many of whom depend on this activity as the main source of income for their families. “We always have high expectations of this project, because it bridges the gap between the farmer and the consumer. Most of the products from family farming are ecological and very good,” says Julio Cesar de Souza Müler, president of the Association since 2019.

The increase in the number of APAF members can be considered one of the results of the implementation of PDCIS in the region, which through Integrated Property Planning (PIP), a practice of the Environmental Conservation front, promotes greater diversification of crops on the beneficiaries’ rural properties and spreads the marketing of their products.

According to Julio, in last year’s contract, APAF supplied 100 tons of bananas for school meals alone. This year, under the new contract, 145 tons of water and silver bananas will be distributed. But the supply of fresh food on students’ plates is diverse. Lettuce, spring onions, cabbage, avocado, chayote, carrots, beet and persimmon are examples of other products sent to schools, a list that will be new in 2024: the inclusion of banana raisins.

The mayor of Macaé, Welberth Rezende, says that the aim of the municipality’s call for tenders is to benefit both students at municipal schools and local family farmers.encouraging economic development and job creation in the region. “Our priority is to buy from our producers, ensuring that our students’ meals are supplied with quality items produced in our city,” he says.

PDCIS in Sana

The reapplication of the PDCIS in Sana, in the mountainous region of Macaé (RJ), began in 2022, thanks to a partnership between the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation and Ocyan, an oil and gas company. Developed 20 years ago in Bahia’s Southern Lowlands, the socio-environmental program has already benefited more than 650,000 people, and its expansion into Rio de Janeiro’s soils aims to promote the productivity and sustainability of local small producers’ plantations through training and technical assistance. The PDCIS is being implemented in the region through joint work with the APAF, the Municipality of Macaé and the Association for the Protection of Environmental and Cultural Heritage (APPAC -Tororó).