Urban agriculture and public policies in the Metropolitan Region of Belém
Urban Agriculture, Socioeconomic Analysis, Rural Credit, Institutional Markets, Amazon
Agriculture since its inception has been associated with the rural environment, attributing the urban area an exclusive role of consumer of agricultural production from the countryside. However, over the years, agriculture has gained expression in the urban and periurban areas of cities. The Metropolitan Region of Belém (RMB) has been having a disorderly population growth, with high rates of poverty and unemployment, so urban agriculture has emerged as an opportunity for many families, contributing with quality food produced near homes. In addition, urban agriculture has been playing an important role for the population, ensuring labor occupation, income and food security, and better use of urban spaces, contributing to the sustainable development of cities. Although it has its economic, social and environmental relevance, it is analyzed that the segment, many of the time, does not have public policies that correspond to the needs of the population involved in the activity. Thus, this research identifies the characteristics of agriculture developed in the Metropolitan Region of Belém, focusing on socioeconomic aspects, access to credit and institutional markets through the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). Data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN) were used. It was observed that urban agriculture positively influences the families involved, mainly with income generation and food and nutritional security. However, more effective action by public institutions is needed to promote policies that encourage urban agriculture and enable access to credit and institutional markets for a greater number of farmers, mainly contributing to their development and better quality of life.