Between whips and organic carrots: Coercion and cooperation in the implementation of family agriculture purchases under the pnae

Abstract

Intergovernmental relations are crucial in explaining the decentralization of public policies. After re-democratization, the Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (Pnae) followed the trajectory of other social policies in Brazil: There was the universalization of transfers of financial resources of the Union by direct adhesion of the municipalities. In 2009, federal law created a requirement that at least 30% of Pnae food purchases should come from family farms. This article aimed to identify the pattern of intergovernmental relations present in the implementation of the family farming purchasing policy for school meals. To this end, documentary analysis and interviews with municipal and federal managers were performed. As a result, an uneven and asymmetric decentralization of this program was observed. The elements of coercion and cooperation mix to produce a limited program coordination, highlighting the role played by actors of the agrarian development policy.