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The role of meso-institutions in technical assistance public policies: Evidence from urban and peri-urban farms in the largest Latin American metropolitan area

¹University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF), Germany
²School of Economics, Business and Accounting of the University of São Paulo, Brazil
³University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE), Germany

Abstract

São Paulo is the largest Latin American metropolitan area with 22 million inhabitants. The rapid expansion of the urban sprawl imposes challenges for mega-cities around the world and São Paulo is no exception. Supplying healthy and safe food for an increasing urban population is an important one. In this regard, policies of technical assistance and rural extension are an important tool to foster and strengthen food production. The current Brazilian policy of technical assistance (Política Nacional de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural - PNATER) was put into place in the early 2000s. It has set national directives to be followed by subnational governments in charge of its implementation. These are characterised as meso-institutions, i.e. the intermediate level mediating the macro-institutional level (e.g. general rules) and the micro-institutional level, in which the rules are followed or executed. PNATER services are free of charge and target specific groups, such as family farmers. The policy is also in line with agroecological principles, such as social participation. However, there is a huge heterogeneity among subnational entities providing the services. For instance, the São Paulo municipal government, with the largest municipal budget of the country, delivers its own service and has been internationally awarded by the Bloomberg’s Mayors Challenge 2016. Meanwhile, other municipalities within the same metropolitan area struggle due to the lack of resources or political relevance of urban agriculture in the public agenda. In this research, three municipalities within the São Paulo metropolitan area are compared in an in-depth multiple case study: Embu-Guaçu (peri-urban agriculture), Diadema (intra-urban agriculture) and São Paulo capital municipality (peri-urban in its Southern Zone and intra-urban in its Eastern Zone) in order to analyse the role of the meso-institutions responsible for the technical assistance and rural extension public policies in those areas. We investigate whether they make a difference in the policy results and how. We conclude the paper with a broader discussion on the consequences of the current structure of PNATER and other urban agriculture supporting policies in the fostering of sustainable and fair urban planning considering the institutional heterogeneity throughout the country.

Keywords: Meso-institutions, policy implementation, technical assistance, rural extension, urban agriculture

Contact Address: Eliana Lins Morandi, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF), Genscherallee 3 (ZEF C - OneHealth), 53113 Bonn, Germany, e-mail: elinsmoruni-bonn.de