Percepções de representantes sociais e governamentais sobre ações relacionadas ao enfrentamento da insegurança alimentar na zona rural da Bahia

Abstract

Introduction: Food insecurity (FI) is characterized by limited access to regular and adequate food, resulting from insufficient income or other social, economic, and structural determinants that compromise the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food (HRtAF), whose impacts vary between regions, urban and rural areas. The Northeast region recorded the second highest rate of severe FI, and in Bahia, an inverse pattern to the national one was observed: higher prevalence in urban areas (14.1%) than in rural areas (9.9%). Objective: To analyze public and civil society actions with the potential to impact the prevalence of FI, especially in its severe form, in the rural population of the state of Bahia. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with public and civil society advisors from the Food and Nutrition Security Council (Consea) in the state of Bahia, and with key figures from organized social movements and/or public officials indicated due to their work related to food and nutrition security actions in rural areas. The organizational, development, and content analysis phases of the interviews were guided by Bardin's (1977) assumptions, as a way to systematize and analyze the data. Results: The analysis of the interviews resulted in two central categories, namely: "Between data and discourses: ambivalence of meanings about actions surrounding Food Security," which indicated that the lower food insecurity in rural Bahia is due to the continuity of rural development policies and support for family farming; and the second category, "Claiming, influencing, and cooperating: aspects relevant to civil society in strengthening Food Security actions in the rural area of the state of Bahia," which expressed the leading role of organized civil society, especially family farmers, in the construction, monitoring, and implementation of actions aimed at guaranteeing food and nutrition security. Conclusion: A reality of punctual advances and persistent challenges in addressing food insecurity in rural Bahia was evidenced, marked by resource limitations, fragility, and discontinuity of public policies. Conversely, the leading role of civil society, especially family farmers, in promoting food and nutrition security stands out, revealing that the paths to reducing food insecurity depend on the interaction between effective public policies and social mobilization, with a need to expand the continuity and reach of actions through participatory and territorially sensitive governance.