Municipal state capacities as conditioners of the performance of family farming purchases within the scope of the PNAE

Abstract

The National School Feeding Program (PNAE) is recognized worldwide as a successful public food and nutritional security policy, but many Brazilian municipalities have demonstrated difficulties in meeting the minimum purchases from family farming (AF) established in Law No. 11,947/2009. Among the possible constraints are municipal state capabilities, although empirical inferential studies are still lacking. Given this, this study aimed to understand the relationships between local state capabilities and AF purchases in the PNAE, using as a response variable the percentage of resources used by municipalities in direct AF purchases and, as explanatory variables, representative of technical- administrative, political-relational and local context. As an analysis technique, t-tests for the difference between means, Chi-square test and quantile regression were used. The results confirm the existence of a significant difference between the level of capacity of municipalities that, in 2019, met the legal minimum for acquisitions and those that failed to reach this target. The influence of state technical-administrative and political-relational capabilities on the percentage of purchases made was also revealed, corroborating the importance of considering these elements in analytical models and in the management of public policies implemented in this context.

Keywords:
state capacity; public policy; PNAE; family farming; quantile regression