The Center for Sustainability Studies (FGVces) of FGV’s Sao Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP) published the results of the third cycle of the Bota Na Mesa Project – “Guidelines for the Inclusion of Family Farming in the Food Chain”, on February 20, in Sao Paulo.

In the first two years, Bota Na Mesa supported cooperatives of family farmers in the urban and peri-urban region of the city of Sao Paulo in management practices to access markets, according to the interest of the cooperatives. Starting in 2018, the project began working with farmers and other stakeholders in the food chain to create public and business guidelines for the inclusion of family farming.

“The purpose of the event was to discuss and present the guidelines focusing on three topics: consumer relations, infrastructure & technology, and youth in agriculture. In addition, the topics to be addressed this year were announced: agroecological transition and climate change,” explained Manuela Santos, researcher and project manager at FGVces. The event also featured a debate with representatives of government and companies, as well as the cooperatives, to think about possibilities for implementing the guidelines launched, which will also be the focus of efforts of the FGVces team in 2019.

The Bota na Mesa project is an initiative by FGVces, in partnership with Citi and sponsored by the Citi Foundation, which seeks to include family farming in the food chain in large urban centers, considering fair trade, environmental conservation, and food and nutrition security. Through the project, FGVces hopes to contribute to greater transparency in relationships and ensuring that the social and environmental role of small farmers is reflected in a fairer and more inclusive food chain.

Click here to access the project results.