State procurement policy to support family farming

The example of northern Uruguay

Abstract

Public procurement policies focused on family farmers can play a key role in achieving food security and food services, helping to consolidate the trajectories of family farming. This article describes the situation of family farmers in northern Uruguay who participate in the public procurement system in 2022 and supply more than one hundred institutions or organizations of the Ministry of Social Development through the Feeding Rights Program of the National Food Institute. It is a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach, with a convenience sample of 33 family farmers and 44 food service representatives. Secondary sources were used, along with semi-structured interviews, self-administered questionnaires, and focus groups (four with family farmers and five with food service representatives). The family farmers surveyed were from the departments of Artigas, Salto, Paysandú, Rivera, Tacuarembó, and Cerro Largo. They were characterized by their heterogeneity in access to resources and in their production and marketing strategies. The implementation of Law No. 19,292 has strengthened their capacity to integrate into formal marketing channels through the public procurement system, even as they address structural limitations such as indebtedness, insufficient technology and infrastructure, and lack of collective organization. Purchasing institutions adapted their administrative management and training to integrate a greater diversity of fresh, local foods. Effective communication between producers and institutions represents a fundamental challenge for strengthening the relationship and ensuring the policy's success.