O Papel dos dados e informações na melhoria da gestão municipal do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos - PAA

Abstract

The public sector has a normative duty to respond to social demands, including meeting the food needs of the poorest. Despite implementing various programs and activities to promote access to income and food, public entities are not always skilled in these actions. The pandemic period showed government actions falling short of the population's needs or being discontinued. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a trend that had been recorded since 2016: the worsening of socioeconomic indicators in the country, the decrease in income, the reduction in purchasing power, and decreased access to food. During this period, it was reported that Brazil had returned to the hunger map and that in December 2020, 116.8 million people were experiencing food insecurity, ranging from mild to severe. In this scenario, at all levels of government, governments were required to respond to the hunger crisis, with the aim of guaranteeing access to food for all people as an urgent need. Thus, research on the state promotion of Food and Nutritional Security in the country, such as the Food Acquisition Program (PAA), a promoter of food availability for low-income people, becomes relevant. This study aims to analyze whether the collection, processing, and use of data and information from the implementation of the Food Acquisition Program at the municipal level contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of this Program. For this purpose, a qualitative approach was used, with the theoretical frameworks of the Public Policy Cycle, Program Theory, and the development of a Logical Model for Public Programs. And the use of observations, interviews, and documentary analysis of the operationalization of the PAA in the municipality of São Miguel do Guamá (SMG). Where, in the field survey conducted from April to August 2024, the elements for the apprehension of the contents under discussion were extracted. The informational inputs obtained pointed to the existence of an intense exchange of information, sharing of spaces and activities by the people involved, and the presence of institutional partners in the execution of the PAA. However, it was evident that some of these tasks (information flow and task distribution) occur informally and improvisedly, which reduces their quality and the program's scope. Finally, the analysis undertaken considered that the effective use of information and data from and generated internally in the implementation of the PAA at the municipal level can contribute to the improvement of the local public management of this program in municipal entities similar to SMG. It should be noted that there are many difficulties faced by municipalities when implementing public programs designed and developed at the level of the Federal Executive Branch. Finally, it is recommended that more studies of this type be carried out to expand the sample, highlight problems, and propose solutions for the praxis of local implementers of public programs.'