Table. Key actors and their roles and responsibilitiesa.
| Actor | Core functions | Specific subactors | Role and responsibilities in developing Article 14 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intersectoral between government and civil society | |||
| Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (CONSEA – National Council on Food and Nutrition Security) | Cross government-civil society advisory group to the president on policies and actions needed to promote food and nutrition security. | Working group for School Feeding CONSEA presidents | - Drafting the law; - Placing the issue on the agenda of government ministries; - Lobbying congress (arranging meetings etc.); - Providing technical expertise; - Providing the space for intersectoral discussions. |
| Governmentb - ministries and agencies | |||
| Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento da Educação (FNDE – National Fund for Educational Development) of the Brazilian Ministry of Education | Government agency responsible for managing the Programa Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição (PNAE – National School Feeding Program). | Coordinator of the PNAE Coordenação Técnica de Alimentação e Nutrição (COTAN – Technical Coordination on Food and Nutrition) composed of nutritionists of the FNDE and external experts | - Contribution in drafting the law as a member of the CONSEA working group; - Coordinating the discussion between the FNDE, the Brazilian Ministry of Education, CONSEA, and the Congress; - Redrafting the bill into a Provisional Measure (MP). |
| Brazilian Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA) | Government ministry responsible for developing and implementing policies for family farming. | Division of income generation and value addition of Secretaria da Agricultura Familiar (SAF – Secretariat of Family Farming), responsible for developing and testing innovative policies and programs to increase market access for family farmers and the market value of their products. | - Lobbying politicians to support the law; - Providing evidence on the workability of PAA; - Member of CONSEA. |
| Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (CONAB – National Food Supply Company | Public company attached to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply responsible for controlling the supply and trade of food stocks, acquisition of stocks from farmers and setting prices, including setting minimum prices for the Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA – Food Acquisition Program). | Diretoria de Política Agrícola e Informações (DIPAI – Board of Agricultural Policy and Information) | - Convincing other government officials that buying from family farmers was feasible and desirable; - Providing evidence on the role of PAA; - Member of CONSEA. |
| Government – politicians | |||
| Frente Parlamentar de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (Parliamentary Front on Nutrition and Food Security), led by Deputy Nazareno Fontales | Group of 250 parliamentarians from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate advocating and articulating laws that aim to improve food and nutrition security. | Directed by Deputy Nazareno Fontales | - Ensuring the technical approval of the law by guaranteeing its structures were in place in the Congress; - Advocating the law in the Congress; - Negotiating the text of the law to build consensus among the Congress; - Proposing amendments that allowed the law to be approved; - Informing CONSEA whom in the Congress needed lobbying, and when - Conducting dialogue with CONSEA and civil society. |
| President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva | President of Brazil. | - Requesting CONSEA to develop ideas to improve the PNAE; - Exhibiting high-level support for the law. | |
| Senator for the state of Rio de Janeiro, Francisco Dornelles | Senator and rapporteur for the bill. | - Lead opponent of Article 14 and the law. | |
| Civil society – food security | |||
| Fórum Brasileiro de Soberania e Segurança Alimentar (FBSSAN – Brazilian Forum on Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security) | Network of NGOs aiming at communicating the importance of food security among society as a whole and encouraging the development of public policies to improve food security. | - Current president of the NGO FASE; - State level forums. | - Mobilizing and building support from different sectors (drafting letters, disseminating information, etc); - Hosting a national seminar (70 people) in 2008; - Creating an intersectoral committee from civil society to monitor the progress of the law; - Lobbying congress (e.g., leaflets, organizing e-mail campaign to congressmen; meetings with the Parliamentary Front; hearings with party leaders). |
| Federação de Órgãos para Assistência Social e Educacional (FASE – Federation of Organizations for Social and Educational Assistance) | NGO concerned with food security. | - Member who was p0resident of FBSSAN. | - Member was the president of FBSSAN; - Member of CONSEA. |
| Ação Brasileira pela Nutrição e Direitos Humanos (ABRANDH – Brazilian Action for Nutrition and the Right to Food) | NGO concerned with the right to food. | Director. | - Involvement with FBSSAN work (see above); - Meeting with members of the Congress; - Mobilizing support; - Member of CONSEA. |
| Civil society - family farmer groups | |||
| Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura (CONTAG – National Confederation of Workers in Agriculture) | Labor union of rural workers. | - Women’s Bureau of CONTAG. | - Mobilizing their members; - Lobbying the Congress; - Coordinating with CONSEA, FNDE. |
| Federação dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura Familiar (FETRAF – Federation of Workers in Family Farming) | Labor union of workers for family farms. | - Mobilizing their members; - Lobbying the Congress. | |
| Via Campesina | Network of NGOs concerned with food sovereignty, land reform, and peasant farming. | Movement of Women Peasants; Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST); Movement of Small Farmers (MPA). | - Mobilizing their members; - Lobbying the Congress. |
| Articulação Nacional de Agroecologia (ANA – National Network of Agroecology) | Network of NGOs that promotes agroecological methods in farming. | Head of working group on food security. | - Member of CONSEA; - Mobilizing support from members. |
a The study did not include interviews or analysis of the role of state level actors. However, several informants noted that actions were also taken at state level. This included the CONSEA that existed at state level – which advocated for Article 14 –, the state forum FBSSAN, the ANA – which advocated their state deputies and senators in favor of the law –, and municipal mayors and secretaries of education, some of whom had doubts about Article 14.
b The Brazilian state apparatus is structured in three branches: executive (ministries, agencies etc.), legislative (an elected Senate and Chamber of Federal Deputies, termed together by the Congress), and judiciary. It has a constitution originally ratified in 1988.