Food Security and Environmental Sustainability: US and Brazil Strategies

 

Introduction

Food availability in Brazil is more than adequate to feed the entire population. Excluding exports and adding local food production to imports, the availability of grains exceeds 340 kg per capita per year, which is over one-third more than the minimal nutritional needs. If one considers that 200 kg/per capita/year of grains is sufficient to meet energy demands of 2,000 kcal/day for an adult weighing 70 kg, and given that Amazon has 25 million inhabitants, it would require an estimated 5,000,000 tons of grains to assure self-sufficiency. Given that there are around 600,000 smallholders that practice slash-and-burn migratory agriculture and produce a maximum of 1,500 kg of hulled rice per hectare, the maximum acreage required to sustain the Amazon population would be 2,800,000 hectares per year. Using advanced farming methods, farmers in Amazon can produce 5,000 kg of grains per hectare with a per capita area of only 400 m². A mere 840,000 hectares of cultivated land could feed the entire population, compared to the 74 million hectares deforested by 2010. This clearly shows that zero deforestation may be achieved in the Amazon by using technology and focusing on the already deforested frontier rather than adding additional areas remote from population centers.

Despite the vast potential, it was projected in 2011 that 16.27 million people lived in absolute poverty, or 8.5% of the Brazilian population, with monthly incomes of up to US$ 40.15. In the North, an estimated 2.65 million people live in absolute poverty, accounting for 16% of the region's population. Hunger in Brazil is not an endemic problem; rather, it is political and economic in origin, meaning that it is not caused by a lack of production capacity, natural disasters, or a scarcity regime. According to all studies, the problem of hunger in Brazil has been caused by a lack of income for people to properly feed themselves, reflecting the country's income inequality. This is exacerbated by high unemployment rates, slow economic growth, and ineffective public food security programs.

Household budget studies conducted across the country found that poor households spend between 70% and 80% of their wages on food purchases. Enhanced governmental policies to support family-based agriculture began to be implemented in 2003, along with social policies and others to increase basic food production, resulting in a decline in food prices and fostering a real increase in salaries and income distribution. Except for the lowest sectors of Amazon's urban populations, food security has only been a substantial issue in rural areas during times of natural disasters, such as major flooding (2009) and the 2005 Amazon River drought. Due to a lack of productive alternatives and job prospects, the government frequently provides food in settlement projects and land squats (Becker, 2004; 2010). In 2008, there were 3,244 settlement projects in Amazon, covering 462,000 km² and involving 670,000 families (Brandão Júnior; Souza Júnior, 2006; Homma, 2005; Torneau e Bursztyn, 2010).

In 2003, the Brazilian government established the Bolsa Família (Family Grant) Program.

In January 2012, the program assisted 14,281,965 families, with 2,553,244 families living in Amazon, accounting for 17.88% of the national total. The program provides a monthly stipend of US$ 40.15 to US$ 100.65, depending on the number of children aged 15 years, youths between 16 and 17 if attending school, or under. This approach has reduced the country's poorest population by roughly 20%.

Nearly 51% of Brazil's poor live in non-metropolitan urban areas, with 23% in metropolitan areas and 26% in rural areas. Regionally, 17% of the poor are concentrated in the Southeast, 4% in the South, 3% in the Midwest, 16% in the North, and 60% in the Northeast.

Over the last 50 years, Brazil has launched a number of government assistance and welfare programs to alleviate nutritional inadequacies among its poorest citizens. Among the longest-running, we highlight the School Lunch Program, which began in 1940 and now serves around 46 million students in public schools, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total population. In general, these initiatives have focused on human resources and welfare, as well as poverty reduction programs, particularly welfare programs that support rural smallholders, land reform, and rural development.

Studies on family agriculture in Amazon and Northeastern Brazil have shown that produce sold represents 34% of total income earned by agriculture per se, household consumption valued at market prices represents 19%, selling their labor corresponds to 23%, retirement and community-based public service benefits (lunch providers, teachers, health agents, etc.) represents 17%, while community joint efforts and aid from children and relatives who live outside the community. These results show that

Greater public investment in hinterland settlements is required, including the creation of new schools and health clinics, as well as the involvement of communities in the recovery of side roads, environmental surveillance, and other activities. Insofar as public transfers account for 17% of family agriculture income, the government plays a crucial role in creating new jobs and improving community well-being. Institutionalized payment for environmental services may also be explored in some instances.

Amazon: The Physical, Human, and Political Environment

The Amazon continental biome spans nine nations and is estimated to be 6.4 million square kilometers in size, with Brazil accounting for 63% (4 million square kilometers). The remaining 37% (2.4 million square kilometers) is split among Peru (10%), Colombia (7%), Bolivia (6%), Venezuela (6%), Guyana (3%), Suriname (2%), Ecuador (1.5%), and French Guiana (1.5%). The continental Amazon River Basin covers 44% of South America's surface area and 5% of the Earth's landmass. It is the world's largest tropical forest, accounting for one-third of all tropical rainforest reserves, as well as the largest gene bank (Fenzl; Mathis, 2004; Lentini et al., 2005; Abramovay, 2010). Despite the fact that Brazil accounts for 63% of the continental Amazon, the headwaters of the Amazon River and its tributaries are located in neighboring countries, indicating the need for Amazonian countries to form a group to ensure its preservation (Kinoshita, 1999) (Figure 1).